Majority of blasphemy cases in Pakistan ‘fabricated,’ officials say

Officials in Pakistan last week reported to a parliamentary committee that a majority of 333 blasphemy cases registered in the past five years in four provinces were fabricated, according to media reports.
 
The fabricated cases included those involving Christians and other religious minorities, provincial home secretaries and senior police officials told the Senate’s Functional Committee on Human Rights on Wednesday (July 8).
 
In a meeting chaired by Sen. Samina Mumtaz Zehri in the federal capital, Islamabad, official data submitted to the committee showed that Punjab Province recorded the highest number of cases under Section 295-C of the blasphemy law, which criminalizes insulting Islam’s prophet, Muhammad, with 116 cases registered over the five-year period. According to the data, 56 percent of the accused were Muslims, while 14 percent belonged to religious minority communities.
 
Sindh Province reported 96 cases under Section 295-B, which pertains to desecration of the Quran, and 29 cases under Section 295-C. Police from Sindh told the committee that of the 29 Section 295-C cases registered between 2023 and June, charge sheets had been filed in 22 cases, two remained under investigation, three involved unidentified suspects and the remaining First Information Reports (FIRs) were quashed because of legal or procedural deficiencies.
 
Of the 96 Quran desecration cases, Sindh prosecutors submitted charge sheets in 69 cases, six remained under investigation, four were quashed and 17 FIRs were registered against unidentified suspects. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province reported more than 90 blasphemy cases during the period, while Balochistan Province recorded the fewest, with 28.
 
Provincial officials acknowledged before the committee that personal vendettas, family disputes and other private conflicts frequently motivated blasphemy allegations. In many cases, they said, investigations failed to uncover evidence supporting the accusations, leading to their dismissal.
 
As an example, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Director of Prosecution Zeeshan Afridi described a case in which children filed a blasphemy complaint against their father following a domestic dispute. According to Afridi, the son alleged that his father had desecrated religious material during an argument at home, prompting police to register a case.
 
Punjab officials also briefed the committee on a new standard operating procedure aimed at preventing mob violence in blasphemy-related incidents. Under the revised policy, police immediately register an FIR upon receiving a complaint instead of attempting informal mediation, which officials said had previously allowed tensions to escalate into deadly mob attacks. They told the committee that the new approach had contributed to a decline in vigilante violence.
 
During the meeting, Sen. Ata-ul-Haq Darvish of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) asked whether Islamic scholars were involved in preliminary investigations of blasphemy allegations. After officials replied that they were not, he proposed making their participation mandatory to help assess the validity of accusations before investigations proceed.
 
Closing the session, Zehri announced that the committee’s next meeting on the issue would be held in camera.
 
“We want to verify each registered case to ensure there are no false or fabricated allegations and that proper scrutiny takes place,” she reportedly said.
 
Zehri added that police, investigators, prosecutors and courts all play interconnected roles in the administration of justice and stressed the need to review existing procedures in light of growing concerns over misuse of the laws.
 
“We have seen people weaponize blasphemy allegations to target others over personal disputes, and that is tragic,” Zehri said. “The laws are not perfect, which is why we have sought recommendations from all stakeholders so that changes can be introduced where necessary. It is our collective responsibility to leave the next generation a safer and freer society.”
 
Pakistan’s blasphemy laws have long drawn criticism from human rights organizations and legal experts, who say they are frequently misused to settle personal scores, seize property and target religious minorities. Although no one has been executed by the state under the country’s blasphemy statutes, allegations have repeatedly sparked mob violence, extrajudicial killings and lengthy pretrial detention.
 
Recent court acquittals of two Christian men have reinforced longstanding concerns about the misuse of the laws.
 
On July 6, a Lahore court acquitted 37-year-old Dennis Albert, who had spent more than two years in prison after being accused of desecrating pages of the Quran. His lawyer, Asad Jamal, said the court identified serious deficiencies in the police investigation and found material inconsistencies in the prosecution’s evidence.
 
On June 22, another Lahore court acquitted 49-year-old blind Catholic Nadeem Masih after he spent 10 months in prison on a blasphemy charge carrying a mandatory death sentence. The court ruled that prosecutors had failed to present sufficient evidence to substantiate the allegation.
 
On July 1, 61-year-old Amir Peter, who suffered from advanced dementia, died in custody after spending nearly a year in jail awaiting trial on a false blasphemy accusation. According to the advocacy group representing him, Peter died after receiving inadequate medical care just days before a court was scheduled to hear medical evidence supporting his bail application.
 
International advocacy groups continue to rank Pakistan among the world’s most difficult countries for Christians. In its 2026 World Watch List, Open Doors ranked Pakistan eighth among the 50 countries where Christians face the most severe persecution, citing systemic discrimination, mob violence, forced conversions, bonded labor and gender-based violence. The organization also said weak law enforcement and widespread impunity have enabled perpetrators of anti-Christian attacks to evade accountability.

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