How common is violence in Pakistan over blasphemy?

• Although no one has ever been executed, blasphemy convictions are common in Pakistan.
• And, although most convictions are thrown out on appeal by higher courts, vigilante mobs have lynched dozens of people even before a case is put on trial.
• Those killed include members of religious minorities, prominent politicians, students, clerics and people with mental illnesses.
• They have been burned to death, hanged by mobs, shot dead in courtrooms and hacked to death on the side of the road, among other forms of extrajudicial executions.
• According to local media and researchers, at least 85 people have been murdered in relation to blasphemy allegations since 1990.
• Judges hearing blasphemy cases have reported facing pressure to hand down convictions, regardless of the evidence, fearing physical violence if they don’t.
• When anti-blasphemy violence breaks out, local police have been seen standing aside and allowing mobs to carry out their attacks – often out of fear that they might be branded as “blasphemers” themselves for not allowing lynchings.

How widespread are blasphemy allegations?

• Since 2011, when Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer was shot dead by his bodyguard over a call for the blasphemy laws to be reformed, mainstream debate over the issue has been all but impossible.
• Today, spurious blasphemy allegations are often levelled as a way to pressure opponents in disputes – including by top political leaders.
• Taseer’s killer was lauded by many, and the murder was followed by the rise of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), a far-right party with widespread support that calls for blasphemers to be beheaded.
• The rise of the TLP has seen an increase in blasphemy cases filed on ideological grounds. The group has been outlawed, but government sources and residents said some of its members were involved in the violence this week. The TLP has denied the allegation.
• As of 2023, there are at least 53 people in custody across Pakistan on blasphemy charges, according to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.

Are minorities more at risk?

• The majority of those accused of blasphemy in Pakistan are Muslims, but members of religious minorities face an especially acute threat, according to rights groups.
• Christians – who form about 1.3 percent of Pakistan’s 250 million population – have been at particular risk, with neighbourhoods in the cities of Lahore, Gojra, Jaranwala and the capital Islamabad burned down or attacked following blasphemy allegations in recent years.
• Convictions hinge on witness testimony and these are often linked to personal vendettas, activists say.