USCIRF: Blasphemy laws in Pakistan from bad to worse

INTERNATIONAL DESK: On December 18, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom released a new report on “Assessing Blasphemy in Pakistan.” The USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission created by the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA). Its commissioners are appointed by the President and by Congressional leaders of both political parties.

The report starts by commenting an incident familiar to readers of “Bitter Winter.” In August 2023, a mob attacked the Christian community of Jaranwala, Punjab, burning and demolishing dozens of churches and homes following ill-founded accusations of blasphemy. “The attacks in Jaranwala represent the most severe attack against Pakistani Christians in recent years and coincide with the Pakistani government’s efforts to strengthen the country’s existing blasphemy legislation,” the report notes.

“In Pakistan,” the USCIRF reports, ”blasphemy accusations, whether true or false, often lead to lengthy prison sentences on death row and solitary confinement, foment violence towards religious minorities, and in some cases, the killing of the accused… According to advocacy groups, more than 2,100 people have been accused of blasphemy in Pakistan since 1987, with 40 currently on death row and at least 89 killed by mobs for blasphemy accusations.” “Those accused of blasphemy often face mob violence, imprisonment, or the death sentence. While the government has not yet executed anyone for blasphemy nonstate actors have killed alleged blasphemers.” “Rather than taking steps to mitigate the violence, however, the Pakistani government has recently undertaken efforts to strengthen the country’s existing blasphemy legislation.”

In January 2023, Pakistan’s National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, passed an amendment to the current blasphemy laws to punish derogatory comments about Prophet Muhammad’s family, wives, and companions, and the first four caliphs. As the report summarizes, with respect to these cases the amendment “seeks to increase the possible range of punishment to a minimum sentence of three years and a fine, up to life imprisonment, while simultaneously making the offense non-bailable.” In August, the Senate also passed the bill. While the President must sign the law for it to go into effect, effects are already visible as religious minorities including Shiite Muslims are put under increased pressure.

Even in the rare cases when those accused of blasphemy are released or acquitted, “they continue to face significant challenges, including social stigmatization and threats,” as it happened to Asia Bibi before she escaped abroad.

The report notes that, “In many instances, vigilante groups and perpetrators of targeted violence against those accused of blasphemy operate with impunity, even in the presence of police forces. In February, at least 50 men stormed a police station in Punjab to kidnap a Muslim man, Muhammad Waris, who had been accused of desecrating the Qur’an. Initially, after he was accused of blasphemy, locals reportedly planned to hang Waris, but authorities transported him to the police station in Nanaka Sahib. Once he was taken into custody, however, the mob stormed the police station, removed Waris from his jail cell, beat him, and lynched him.”

Ahmadi Muslims are routinely and almost by definition accused of breaching the law if they dare “to call themselves Muslims, use Muslim practices in worship, or share their faith. Ahmadis are prohibited from publicly declaring their faith, obtaining material related to their faith, citing the Qur’an, building mosques, referring to their places of worship as mosques, or making the public call for prayer.” Discriminatory laws, which also make it difficult for Ahmadis to vote, unavoidably generate violence. The report claims that, “Targeted violence and discrimination against the Ahmadiyya community has intensified throughout 2023,” listing a series of incidents and quoting “Bitter Winter” among the media outlets that reported them. “In September 2023, the Lahore High Court ruled that Ahmadiyya mosques built before 1984 cannot be destroyed or altered,” but this decision did not stop vandalism and destruction, the report explains.

The report also mentions the propaganda use by Pakistan of a deplorable incident where the Holy Quran was burned in Sweden to justify and even promote internationally its anti-blasphemy laws.

The USCIRF concludes that, “Blasphemy legislation remains a key challenge to the protection of religious freedom in Pakistan,” which the United States and other democratic countries cannot ignore when evaluating whether military or humanitarian aid should be supplied to the Asian country.