The Centre for Democracy, Pluralism, and Human Rights (CDPHR) has vehemently condemned the recent blasphemy-related mob lynching in Pakistan. The tragic incident occurred in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region, where Muhammad Ismail, a visitor on vacation, was brutally killed over allegations of desecrating the Quran.
Ismail, who was staying in a hotel in the city of Madyan, was accused by hotel staff and locals of committing blasphemy. Following the accusation, he was arrested and taken to a police station. However, news of the arrest quickly spread, inciting a mob of radical Muslims to storm the police station. The mob forcefully removed Ismail from custody, lynched him, and subsequently set his lifeless body on fire.
CDPHR condemns mob lynchings in Pakistan
This incident highlights the persistent dangers posed by Pakistan’s anti-blasphemy laws, which are embedded in an anti-secular Constitution that discriminates against non-Muslims. The societal acceptance of fundamentalist views regarding blasphemy leaves those accused of sacrilege or apostasy vulnerable to arbitrary arrests and large-scale mob violence.
Pakistan’s blasphemy laws have long been exploited to harass religious minorities—including Hindus and Christians—secular Muslims, non-Sunni Islamic sects such as Ahmadis and Shias, and non-religious individuals. These laws have also been misused to settle personal scores, property disputes, and petty grievances. As of February 2021, at least 1,855 people have been charged under these laws, with many victims falling prey to extrajudicial lynchings and murders. Last month, an elderly Christian man in Punjab’s Sargodha city was similarly lynched over blasphemy allegations.
The CDPHR termed Pakistan’s blasphemy laws and the state’s inability to control Islamic fundamentalist mobs and preachers as disgraceful violations of global human rights norms. The CDPHR calls upon the Government of Pakistan to take legal action against the Islamic clerics who incite such violence and to revoke its anti-blasphemy laws. The organization also urged the state to protect individuals accused of blasphemy.
Additionally, the CDPHR called on the Bharatiya Government to raise the issue of blasphemy-related lynchings in international forums and to use diplomatic channels to address the problem with their Pakistani counterparts. Global institutions, including the United Nations and the international community, should also appeal to Pakistan to address the issue of blasphemy-related violence.
The CDPHR is committed to monitoring human rights violations globally and advocating for the rights of Pakistan’s religious minorities and non-religious individuals to live free from harassment and abuse.
CDPHR expressed concern over the vanishing of Hindus in neighbouring countries
In 2021, CDPHR released comprehensive reports on human rights violations against minorities in Bharat’s seven neighbouring countries. These reports highlight grave abuses, particularly against Hindus.
The reports covered Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Tibet. The findings are based on previous years’ reports from international human rights organizations, testimonies from human rights activists and NGOs, media accounts, credible writers, and interviews with actual victims of these ordeals.
The reports on Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan are particularly concerning, detailing the dire conditions faced by minorities such as Hindus and Sikhs, whose populations have been consistently dwindling in these Islamic nations. These communities suffer from forced conversions, denial of fundamental rights, restricted freedom to practice their religion, and frequent abductions and killings. These issues have created a severe humanitarian crisis for minorities in these regions.
CDPHR has been constantly raising human rights issues across the world. The organization also sent a fact-finding team to investigate the Leicester violence against Hindus. Organizations like CDPHR should keep the pressure on governments to ensure justice for minority victims.
