PAKISTAN: New escalation in blasphemy cases, no more right to be defended by a lawyer in Mansehra
Mansehra district bar association prohibits members from appearing in blasphemy cases. Statistics: Imprisonment of 767 persons on blasphemy charges from 2020 to mid -2024.
By Willy Fautré, director of Human Rights Without Frontiers
HRWF (05.06.2025) – The district bar association of Mansehra, a city in the Hazara Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, has unanimously passed a resolution barring its members from appearing in cases of individuals accused of blasphemy or desecration of the Holy Quran in the court of law. There was no member voicing opposition.
This resolution in Mansehra is a new attempt and escalation in the fight of extremist groups in favor of the consolidation of the blasphemy criminalization in Pakistan.
According to the resolution in Mansehra, no member of the district bar association is permitted to advocate for or represent individuals accused of blasphemy, desecration of the Holy Quran, or insulting the Prophet Muhammad, his companions and family.
Bar Council of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan Bar Council Members reject Manshera Bar’s blasphemy resolution
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council and senior members of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and Pakistan Bar Council have rejected a resolution passed by the District Bar Association Mansehra, which announced the barring of its members from representing individuals accused of blasphemy or desecration of the Holy Quran in courts.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Bar Council and senior members of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) have rejected the resolution passed by the District Bar Association Manshera.
The KP Bar Council Vice Chairman Ahmed Farooq Khattak said the resolution has no legal standing as it contradicts the Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils Act and the rules made by the KP Bar Council.
“This also goes against the spirit of Article 10-A of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to a fair trial. Having a lawyer of one’s own choice to defend an accused is a cornerstone of a fair trial,” Khattak said.
He added that no one can prevent a lawyer from fulfilling his or her professional duties. He added that the Pakistan Bar Council could take action only if a lawyer formally approached the council.
However, it can be expected that lawyers will never start a procedure against the Mansehra Bar Association if they and their families are threatened by extremist groups. Pakistan Bar Council should officially invalidate such a resolution without delay. In May 2014, prominent human rights lawyer Rashid Rehman was shot dead in his Multan office after receiving death threats for defending Junaid Hafeez, a university lecturer accused of blasphemy.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) also strongly opposed the resolution in a statement.
Blasphemy is a highly sensitive issue in Pakistan. The country has witnessed numerous mob lynchings and killings of individuals accused of blasphemy—many of whom were later found to be innocent. Even when the accused are taken into police custody, most are deprived of adequate legal representation, as many lawyers are afraid to take on such cases due to threats and vilification by right-wing religious and political groups.
From 2020 to 25 July 2024, the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) reported that 767 individuals were incarcerated on blasphemy charges across the country. The trend is exponential: 11 in 2020, 9 in 2021, 64 in 2022, 213 in 2023 and 475 until 22 February 2024.
Photo: Credit HRWF