PAKISTAN: Violence against Christians and blasphemy laws in the dock in the EU Parliament
A conference organized by ADF international, hosted by MEPs Bert-Jan Ruissen (ECR Group) and Matej Tonin (EPP Group). See below the presentation of panelist John Asher
By John Asher, Pakistani Christian Journalist, for Human Rights Without Frontiers
HRWF (05.12.2025) – “The blasphemy provisions (primarily sections of the Pakistan Penal Code such as 295, 295-A, 295-B, 295-C, 298, 298-A, 298-B and 298-C) criminalize acts seen as insulting religion, the Qur’an, the Prophet Muhammad, and — via Ordinance XX — restrict the religious expression of Ahmadis. Some offences carry long prison terms; Section 295-C (insulting the Prophet) is treated in practice as punishable by death. These laws are highly politicized and have repeatedly been misused by individuals and groups to target people to settle personal disputes, grab land or property, intimidate minorities, or silence critics.
Accused people face risk of lynching, mob attacks, and long legal limbo even if evidence is weak.
Blasphemy allegations trigger immediate police action, arrests, and — in many instances — non-bailable detention or long pre-trial confinement.
Recent statistics
According to the 2025 Annual Human Rights Observer report issued by the Center for Social Justice, 344 new blasphemy cases were registered in Pakistan in 2024, highlighting increased abuse of the blasphemy laws. Of the 344 new blasphemy cases, 70 percent of the accused were Muslims, 6 percent were Christians, 9 percent Hindus and 14 percent Ahmadis.
According to data compiled by Pakistan’s National Commission on Human Rights, as of July 25, 2024, there were 767 people accused of blasphemy languishing in jails across Pakistan, whereas in 2023, there were 213 suspects incarcerated for blasphemy, 64 in 2022, nine in 2021 and 11 in 2020.
According to the research organization, Center for Social Justice (CSJ), at least 2,793 persons were formally or informally accused of blasphemy in Pakistan over the past 38 years, 1987 to 2024. Over those years, 54 percent of those accused were Muslims, 30 percent were Ahmadis, 11 percent were Christians and 3 percent were Hindus, while the religious identities of another 3 percent could not be ascertained. However, the actual scale of abuse of these laws may be three to four times higher.
According to the same research, at least 104 persons were killed extra-judicially following blasphemy allegations between 1994 and 2024, which included 67 Muslims (64 percent), 26 Christians (25 percent), seven Ahmadis, one Hindu and one Buddhist, while the religion of two persons was unknown.
Punjab was the province with the most killings at 72 (69 percent of the total), followed by 15 in Sindh, 11 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, three in Balochistan, two in Islamabad and one in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
Government data about complaints in the years 2018–2023 acknowledges that the conviction rate under blasphemy laws was around 1%, with seven acquittals against every conviction. Nevertheless, all convictions so far have been overturned by the high courts and the Supreme Court of Pakistan, indicating that even one percent of convictions lacked merit. Moreover, the ratio of Muslim accused was 98.40%.
Surge in blasphemy cases in 2022-2024
An investigation report by the National Commission on Human Rights in 2024 revealed that vigilante groups are working with federal authorities to lure young people into sharing blasphemous content on social media, leading to their arrests in over 400 cases.
While a majority of those entrapped by this so-called blasphemy business group were Muslims, some Christians were also implicated in false cases by members of this group.
These Christian victims include Ishtiaq Saleem and Shagufta Kiran from Rawalpindi and 24-year-old Arsalan Gill from Lahore.
In Sept 2024, a petition was filed in the Islamabad High Court by the families of more than 100 victims of false blasphemy cases seeking the formation of a government commission to investigate the misuse of the laws.
The petition alleged that some officials of the anti-blasphemy unit of the Cybercrime wing of the FIA, a group of lawyers and some other individuals conspired to honey-trap innocent people into sharing content deemed blasphemous, and later using it to extort money by threatening legal action.
After conducting 42 hearings, IHC Justice Ejaz Ishaq on July 15 directed the government to form an inquiry commission within 30 days and complete the investigation within 4 months. However, hopes for justice and an end to false allegations were dashed when a week later, a division bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) suspended the decision on an appeal filed by the leaders of the blasphemy business group.
Some recent incidents involving Christians include
(i) The case of a 49-year-old blind Christian, Nadeem Masih, who was arrested and charged under Section 295-C of the blasphemy law by the Lahore police on Aug. 21, 2025.
His family and lawyer claim that Masih was tortured by police during custody to elicit a false confession.
(ii) On July 19, a 60-year-old Christian, Amir Peter was arrested in Lahore and charged with blasphemy after he accused a Muslim shopkeeper of overcharging. Peter was charged under Section 295-C of the blasphemy laws.
(iii) In June 2024, a mentally ill 60-year-old Christian woman, Jameela Khatoon was arrested in Lahore under Section 295-C.
(iv) In April 2024, Dennis Albert was arrested and charged with blasphemy for inadvertently stepping out of his rickshaw onto some papers said to be pages of the Quran.
(v) In March 2024,18-year-old Christian Ashbeel Ghauri was arrested and charged with blasphemy in Attock after his former Muslim classmate falsely accused him of disrespecting Islam. The victim, who was granted bail after some days claimed that he was implicated in the case after he refused to renounce his Christian faith.
(vi) In Jan 2024, a judge sentenced a Christian, Fanson Shahid to life in prison under Pakistan’s blasphemy statutes for a social media message that relatives say was posted using a phone stolen from him.
On March 21, 2025, the throat of a 22-year-old Christian, Waqas Masih was slashed by a co-worker in Sheikhupura District on allegations that he had committed blasphemy by touching an Islamic textbook “with unclean hands”.
In Sept 2024, police in Sindh province killed a Muslim doctor, Shah Nawaz Kumbhar, in a fake encounter after he was falsely accused of posting blasphemous content on social media. The incident was widely condemned across Pakistan, resulting in the suspension of senior police officials.
Also in Sept 2024, a police constable in Balochistan province gunned down a Muslim blasphemy accused, Abdul Ali in a police station following mob violence led by the now proscribed hardline party, Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan. The victim’s family was later forced to “pardon” the accused due to fears for their security.
In June 2024, a 36-year-old Muslim man Muhammad Ismail was dragged from a police station and killed by a mob in Swat district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, after being accused of desecrating the Quran.
In May 2024, a mob in Sargodha incited by a mosque announcement assaulted 74-year-old Christian Nazeer Gill after a local accused him of burning pages of the Quran in the street. The mob pelted Nazeer with bricks and stones, beat him with sticks and kicked him as he lay bleeding on the ground. The mob also burned his house and a small shoe factory that was located near his house. Nazeer succumbed to his injuries on June 3. Meanwhile, at least 52 suspects arrested for the lynching of Nazeer were freed on bail due to sloppy police investigation.
In August 2023, 25 churches and over 85 homes of Christians were ransacked and looted by mobs in Jaranwala after two Christian brothers were arrested and charged with blasphemy. The brothers were discharged from the case after 8 months after it was found that they had been falsely implicated in the crime by another Christian.
On the other hand, lawyers and rights organizations claim that except one accused, over 300 others arrested in connection with the incidents have been freed on bail due to defective police investigation and intimidation of the witnesses by the accused.
Significant developments
(i) The Criminal Laws (Amendment) Act 2023 was passed unanimously in the National Assembly on 17 January 2023, increasing the punishment for using derogatory remarks against holy persons—including the Prophet’s family, wives, and companions, and the four caliphs—from three years with a fine to imprisonment for life ‘which will not be less than ten years. The bill also makes the offence non-bailable.
(ii) On Oct. 22, 2025, after a prolonged delay of two years, the Lahore High Court rejected all petitions filed by individuals and Christian groups seeking a judicial investigation into the Jaranwala incident. Justice Asim Hafeez in his verdict stated that the high court did not have the jurisdiction to order the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the religiously-motivated attacks.
(iii) The Punjab government has imposed a ban on the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) which has been a major driver of violence against Christians and the Ahmadiyya community in the name of blasphemy. The group’s assets and accounts have been frozen and hundreds of its activists have been arrested amid an ongoing crackdown by the provincial government.
(iv) Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Law & Human Rights Azam Nazir Tarar in Oct 2025 announced that the government was working to introduce procedural safeguards in blasphemy-related cases to prevent misuse of the law, and ensure timely justice, which is a welcome move.”
Panel on Targeted Violence against Christians in South Asia
Dr. Adina Portaru, Senior Counsel, ADF International
MEP Matej Tonin, EPP Group
MEP Bert-Jan Ruissen, ECR Group
Asher John, Pakistani Christian Journalist
Shagufta Kausar, Human Rights Advocate, acquitted of blasphemy charges in Pakistan
Ijaz Alam Augustine, Former Minister for For Human Rights Minority Affairs and Interfaith Harmony, Member of the Legislative Assembly of Punjab (Pakistan)
Video Testimony (Excerpt from the documentary “Stolen Lives: the plight of girls from minority religions facing forced marriages and conversions)
Tehmina Arora, Director of Advocacy Asia, ADF International
Final Remarks
Q&A
