Pakistan Christians Fear Blasphemy Violence Despite Crackdown (Worthy News In-Depth)

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent

ISLAMABAD (Worthy News) – Pakistani Christians said Sunday they remain concerned about violence triggered by false blasphemy accusations despite a sharp decline in registered cases following a government and military crackdown on hardline Islamist groups.

Pakistan, an overwhelmingly Islamic nation where blasphemy remains punishable by death, has witnessed around 90 blasphemy-linked lynchings since 1990, and Christians say accusations can still rapidly trigger mob violence even before allegations are investigated.

Their concerns were underscored by a recent case in Karachi, where hundreds of people surrounded four Christian women and a child after blasphemy allegations were made against the family.

Police officer Sanghaar Ali Malik and his unit confronted the crowd as protesters chanted “Death to blasphemers!” But unlike during previous incidents, influential Islamist groups were largely absent, allowing officers to defuse the confrontation peacefully.

The Christian family was brought to safety, and an initial police inquiry subsequently found the blasphemy allegations to be false, Malik said.

BLASPHEMY CASES PLUMMET

The incident came amid a remarkable decline in blasphemy cases following a crackdown reportedly overseen by army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir.

Just 13 blasphemy cases have been registered so far this year, roughly two-thirds fewer than during comparable periods in recent years, according to the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

Pakistan averaged more than seven blasphemy-related riots or attacks annually between 2021 and 2024, but only one was recorded during the past 12 months, according to conflict-monitoring data cited by Reuters news agency.

The government late last year banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), a powerful Islamist movement associated with violent blasphemy protests. Leaders were jailed, mosques sealed and bank accounts frozen.

Pakistani officials say the government and military are united in preventing religious groups from using violence to impose their demands. Analysts say improving economic relations with Europe and the United States also contributed to the crackdown.

CHRISTIANS REMAIN FEARFUL

Yet Christian rights advocates warn that the underlying threat remains because blasphemy is still punishable by death under Pakistani law, while an accusation alone can lead to imprisonment, displacement or mob violence.

Christians, Ahmadiyya Muslims and other minorities have faced attacks in which homes and places of worship were burned following blasphemy accusations.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has urged Washington to press Pakistan to amend or repeal its blasphemy laws, saying accusations are sometimes used to settle personal disputes and can lead to extrajudicial killings and mob violence.

The commission has also recommended that Pakistan be designated a “Country of Particular Concern” over what it calls systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom.

Christian advocacy group LEAD Ministries has called for the blasphemy provisions to be removed altogether, arguing that procedural reforms cannot adequately protect Christians and other vulnerable citizens from false accusations.

COUPLE SPENT YEARS JAILED

One of the best-known cases involved Christian couple Shagufta Kausar and Shafqat Emmanuel, who were sentenced to death for blasphemy and spent about seven years imprisoned before the Lahore High Court acquitted them in 2021.

Their case prompted the European Parliament to condemn the misuse of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws and call for their eventual repeal.

Rights advocates say such cases demonstrate that even an eventual acquittal cannot restore years lost in prison or undo threats, psychological trauma and displacement suffered by accused Christians and their families.

Concerns have also emerged about alleged intimidation surrounding blasphemy proceedings in Islamabad courts, renewing questions about whether judges, lawyers and defendants can participate in such cases without pressure or fear.

Analysts caution that Pakistan’s crackdown may not permanently eliminate Islamist influence.

ISLAMIST INFLUENCE REMAINS

The TLP developed considerable influence after its founding in 2015, and critics have accused Pakistan’s military establishment of previously tolerating or encouraging hardline religious movements for political purposes.

Former Pakistani counter-terrorism chief Ihsan Ghani warned that an extremist movement cultivated over years cannot simply be switched “on” and “off.”

For Christians, the dramatic reduction in blasphemy cases therefore offers hope but has not erased decades of fear.

One of the Christian women rescued from the Karachi mob said she now feels physically safe.

But, she added, the fear has not disappeared.

CHRISTIAN MINORITY SEEKS PROTECTION

Christians number about 3.3 million in overwhelmingly Muslim Pakistan, representing just 1.37 percent of its nearly 241 million people, according to the country’s 2023 census.

LEAD Ministries told Worthy News that the continuing danger faced especially by Christians shows that Pakistan’s blasphemy laws should ultimately be repealed or fundamentally replaced “with legislation protecting religious harmony.”

The new legislation, the group argued, should guarantee “equality before the law, due process, the presumption of innocence, minority rights, and judicial independence.”

Latest Worthy News