Islamabad:
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has directed the federal government to launch an investigation into the alarming rise of online blasphemy cases, particularly targeting young people, following appeals from hundreds of affected families.
In recent years, there has been a noticeable surge in arrests of mostly young men accused of blasphemy in WhatsApp groups since 2022. Rights organisations and police officials say many of these cases are initiated by private law firms that deploy volunteers to monitor online platforms and identify alleged offenders.
Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, while issuing the court order, instructed the government to set up a commission within 30 days. The commission will be tasked with investigating the matter and presenting its findings within four months.
“This development offers a significant ray of hope for the families who have long felt helpless,” said lawyer Imaan Mazari, who is representing several families of the arrested men and women. “For the first time, their concerns are being formally acknowledged by the judicial system.”
She added that young people have been falsely implicated in highly sensitive cases, and even if they are acquitted, the social stigma attached to blasphemy allegations will haunt them for life.
According to a report published by the National Commission for Human Rights in October last year, at least 767 individuals – mostly young men – were in prison awaiting trial over blasphemy charges.
A separate report prepared by Punjab Police earlier this year, which was later leaked to the media, concluded that a “suspicious gang was entrapping youth in blasphemy cases,” possibly motivated by financial gains.
Among the groups most actively pursuing such cases is the Legal Commission on Blasphemy Pakistan (LCBP). Sheraz Ahmad Farooqi, one of the group’s leaders, told AFP in October that “God has chosen them for this noble cause.”
The court’s decision to initiate an inquiry has been welcomed by rights activists and families alike, who say it is essential to prevent the misuse of blasphemy laws for personal or financial motives.
