Pakistan 's blasphemy laws perpetuate religious discrimination and are used to target the poor and minorities in unlawful evictions and land grabs, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. These accusations have had devastating consequences for those affected, while the federal and provincial governments have failed to prevent the abuse or provide justice for victims.
The 29-page report, "'A Conspiracy to Grab the Land': Exploiting Pakistan's Blasphemy Laws for Blackmail and Profit," documents the use of blasphemy accusations for personal economic gain. Accusers have long used blasphemy charges to incite mob violence that has forced entire communities to flee their homes, leaving their property vulnerable to land grabs. Those seeking to exploit the law for their own profit have used blasphemy accusations as a weapon against rivals and businesses owned by religious minorities.
"The Pakistani government should urgently reform its blasphemy laws to prevent them from being weaponized to blackmail rivals, settle personal scores, and attack marginalized communities," said Patricia Gossman, associate Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Failure to prosecute those responsible for incitement and attacks in the past has emboldened those who use these laws to extort and blackmail in the name of religion."
Human Rights Watch interviewed 14 people who had faced blasphemy accusations, as well as lawyers, prosecutors, judges, police officials, human rights activists, and journalists between May 2024 and January 2025 in Lahore, Gujranwala, Kasur, Sheikhupura, and Islamabad districts of Pakistan.
Blasphemy is an offense officially punishable by death in Pakistan. Although no one has been executed for blasphemy, a mere accusation can be a death sentence. In the past decade, vigilantes have killed dozens of people in mob violence following blasphemy accusations.
While the targets of blasphemy accusations and the violence they foster belong to all socio-economic and religious groups in Pakistan, most of the victims have been from marginalized groups, Human Rights Watch found. Blasphemy accusations against Christians and Ahmadis in particular have often forced entire communities to flee their homes and neighborhoods. Because many minority communities in Pakistan live in informal, low-income settlements without title to the land, their forced exodus leaves their property up for easy seizure.
Those alleging blasphemy have also benefitted financially by targeting business rivals and businesses owned by religious minorities. The exploitation of the blasphemy law, in particular the ease with which someone can make an accusation as part of a personal dispute or for economic gain, has instilled fear among those most at risk.
An entrenched bias in Pakistan's criminal justice system results in miscarriages of justice against people accused of blasphemy. The authorities almost never hold those who commit violence in the name of blasphemy to account, while those accused under discriminatory and vague blasphemy laws-generally without evidence-suffer long pretrial detention, lack of due process, and unfair trials that may result in years in prison.
In cases of vigilante attacks, police seldom take action to protect those targeted, and those who do may themselves face threats of violence. As a result, those responsible for mob violence who are protected by politicians or religious leaders avoid arrest or are acquitted.
The government of Pakistan should repeal the blasphemy law and safely release all those held or imprisoned on blasphemy charges, Human Rights Watch said. The authorities should investigate all attacks and threats based on blasphemy accusations, with particular concern for those targeting religious minorities and other marginalized groups and those that result in forced evictions and large-scale forced displacement. The authorities should also institute safeguards to prevent the coerced transfer and sale of properties of those accused following any such incidents.
"The Pakistan government's indifference to the abuses under the blasphemy law and the violence it provokes is discriminatory and violates the rights to fundamental freedoms," Gossman said. "The authorities' failure to hold those responsible for violence against religious minorities to account only encourages extremists and reinforces fear and insecurity among all minorities."
Selected Accounts
Nadia (pseudonym)
Nadia, 52, a beautician and make-up artist in Lahore, is Christian. In July 2019, she decided to quit her job at a local salon and set up her own business. She pooled her life's savings and obtained loans from people she knew to start her own salon. Her previous employer tried to dissuade her by offering a raise. When Nadia refused, the previous employer threatened her, saying that "the consequences of this will not be good for you."
In November 2019, a mob led by a local cleric barged into her salon, beat her and her staff, and ransacked and vandalized the premises. They claimed that she had desecrated the Quran and that a boy in the neighborhood had found pages of the Quran in the trash. Nadia denies this. She said, "I respect all religions and didn't even have a copy of the Bible at the salon. Why would I have a copy of the Quran? I would have to be completely mad and suicidal to even think about disrespecting it."
Firoz (pseudonym)
Firoz, 43, is a Christian who runs a private school with both Muslim and Christian students in a low-income neighborhood of Lahore. In February 2021, Firoz received a call from an angry parent regarding "blasphemous" comments by a teacher. Firoz offered to meet the parent and also asked the teacher for an explanation. The teacher denied making any blasphemous comments. A few days later, a group of people affiliated with a local religious and sectarian organization threatened to "burn down the school" if an apology was not made. Firoz said that the teacher resigned. But that was not enough to appease the religious group. Firoz said:
It soon became clear to me that it wasn't about any remark or "blasphemy." They asked me to donate PKR 200,000 (US$800) to their religious charity to "atone" for my sin. Of course, they realized that since I was a Christian, just a murmur of blasphemy would mean that my school and possibly I too would be set on fire by a mob. No one would ask any questions. My religion made me additionally vulnerable. However, a blasphemy accusation could also result in burning down of a school run by a Muslim. The truth of the allegation doesn't matter. Now, I have started a cycle of blackmail, and they can extort me whenever.
Mian Yasir
Mian Yasir, a lawyer who has represented several blasphemy defendants over the past decade, said:
In my experience, almost all blasphemy accusations in Pakistan are driven by personal motives and mostly by economic reasons. The accusation is a weapon to settle all kinds of scores. Religious minorities are additionally vulnerable, but everyone is vulnerable, even Muslim religious clerics are not immune. Anyone can weaponize this against anyone at any time in Pakistan. This is the sad reality.
Sawan Masih
In March 2013, a mob of about 3,000 people attacked Joseph Colony, a Christian housing community in Badami Bagh, following an allegation of blasphemy against Sawan Masih, a resident. More than 100 houses were ransacked, burned, and looted. The entire community fled. The local government said that the police had "avoided" confronting the "religiously charged mob" because if any officers were killed "the issue might have blown out of proportion and spread all across the country."
Instead of protecting the residents of Joseph Colony, the police arrested Masih. In 2014, a trial court sentenced him to death. His conviction was finally overturned in 2020. Local residents and rights activists maintained that the objective of the attack was to capture land in Joseph Colony. At the trial, Masih said that for years, businessmen linked to the local steel industry had pressured the Christian community to sell their property and leave because they wanted the land:
They contrived a case under the blasphemy law.… They put up banners against me alleging blasphemy against the Prophet.… They played with the religious sentiments of the people.… They involved the local police to create fear and alarm among Christian residents who were threatened and told to leave the colony to save their lives.… This was a conspiracy to grab the colony.
A number of families moved out because they knew they would remain vulnerable to such attacks in the future.
