An Islamist gang trapped more than 450 people in false blasphemy charges in recent years in Pakistan, including five who were tortured death in custody, according to human rights lawyers.
The “blasphemy business group” has devastated numerous families with the collusion of federal investigators, said attorneys Usman Warraich, Imaan Hazir-Mazari and Rana Abdul Hameed at a press conference on Jan. 10 in the federal capital of Islamabad. As frequent targets of blasphemy accusations, Christians in Pakistan are at serious risk of being victimized by the group.
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The Islamist group shares blasphemous content online and then files false charges, blackmailing the families of those accused for large sums of money, the attorneys said, citing a report by the Special Branch of the Punjab Police last year that pinpointed an organized gang behind the recent surge in blasphemy cases.
A separate report by the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) in October that endorses the police findings details how innocent people were being entrapped with the active involvement of officials of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), the rights attorneys said.
The NCHR report highlighted that most of the victims belonged to lower-income or middle-class levels. More than 150 victims of the “blasphemy racket” are being held in Adiala District Jail; 170 in District Camp Jail and Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore; and 55 in Karachi Central Jail, Warraich said.
Setting traps
The gang has recruited young men and women who befriended people on social media and lured them to a “safe-house” in the G-8 Sector of Islamabad, he said.
“Several young victims honey-trapped by this gang have revealed that when they came to the said house, they were stripped naked and tortured by the gang members who also videotaped their ordeal,” Warraich said. “There are about 25-30 people associated with this gang who become plaintiffs after trapping youths from all over Pakistan. Each plaintiff is involved in trapping more than 20 youths.”
Five Muslims, including a 22-year-old woman, Fatima Jahangir, were subjected to inhumane torture that ultimately led to their tragic deaths, he said.
“An orphan boy named Syed Ali Hasnain was killed in Adiala Jail. A young man from Rawalpindi, Syed Abdullah Shah, was tortured and murdered by this group in collaboration with the FIA,” Warraich said. “Fatima Jahangir died in Kot Lakhpat Jail, Lahore, while another 22-year-old boy, Safeer Ullah, lost his life in Camp Jail, Lahore.”
Another youth named Suhan Khan was tortured to death in Karachi Central Jail within three to four days, he said, adding that the Islamist gang publicly celebrates whenever a court denies bail or convicts a victim.
“Celebrations include distributing sweets, garlanding members, and gifting swords to each other, and the videos are widely circulated on social media,” the attorney said. “They also share the names and addresses of the victim families and their lawyers on social media to intimidate them.”
After courts convict the victims, Islamic leaders make announcements against them in the mosques of their respective neighborhoods to incite local residents against their families, he said.
Harassing victims
During proceedings, the Islamist group harasses the victims’ families and shouts slogans in the courtroom to pressure judges to convict the innocent, he added.
Supreme Court Advocate Rana Abdul Hameed, who represented Shagufta Kiran, a Christian woman who was sentenced to death on Sept. 18 in a blasphemy case filed by a member of the Islamist gang, said that the false cases have raised serious questions about the integrity of Pakistan’s legal system.
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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written and originally published by Morning Star News.
