Pakistan’s Blasphemy Laws: Weaponized To Target Religious Minorities, Resulting In Mob Lynchings, And Judicial Failures, Says Joseph Janasen at UNHRC in Geneva
By Joseph Janasen
Human Rights Defender
13 March 2025
Side Event: Freedom of Religion or Belief & the Prohibition of Torture in Pakistan
Ladies and Gentlemen, Distinguished Guests, and Human Rights Defenders,
Thank you for this opportunity to speak on a deeply urgent and pressing issue. I extend my gratitude to the UN Special Rapporteur, Nazila Ghanea, for her vital work in highlighting the intersection of religious freedom and the prohibition of torture. In Pakistan, this intersection has become a grave human rights crisis where blasphemy accusations, religious persecution, and state negligence fuel a cycle of violence, injustice, and inhumane treatment.
Pakistan’s blasphemy laws have long been weaponized to target religious minorities, resulting in wrongful imprisonment, mob lynchings, and judicial failures. These laws have not only failed to uphold justice but have become a tool for oppression. Cases like Nazir Masih, Mashal Khan, and Shama and Shahzad Masih illustrate the devastating consequences of these laws. False accusations, often driven by personal disputes or religious intolerance, have led to brutal killings and wrongful death sentences. Those accused often endure physical and psychological torture, including prolonged solitary confinement, even when there is no credible evidence against them.
Religious minorities also endure another horrifying form of persecution—forced conversions. Christian and Hindu girls, some as young as 11, are abducted, forcibly converted, and married to their abductors. The cases of Shifa Rafaqat, Ariha Gulzar, and Alina Khalid exemplify this practice, where young girls are torn from their families, stripped of their identities, and subjected to abuse and inhumane treatment. Once converted, these girls are often denied access to justice, while their families face threats, police inaction, and judicial bias. This is not just religious persecution—it is a gross violation of human dignity and a form of systematic oppression.
Another grave human rights violation in Pakistan is bonded labour. Despite laws prohibiting this practice, economic hardships and poor enforcement have allowed modern slavery to persist. Over 4.5 million workers, including entire families, remain trapped in debt bondage in brick kilns across Pakistan. These individuals endure physical and psychological abuse, with wages so meagre that they can never break free. Women and children are particularly vulnerable, facing exploitation and forced labour in hazardous conditions. The Pakistani government’s failure to address bonded labour perpetuates this form of systemic torture, allowing generations to remain enslaved.
I speak not just from research but from painful personal experience. My sister, Shagufta Kausar, and her paraplegic husband, Shafqat Emmanuel, were falsely accused of blasphemy and sentenced to death. Due to the blasphemy accusation authorities disregarded his humanity and they disregarded his disability and vulnerabilities. Police officers brutally tortured Shafqat in custody to force him to confess an act he never committed, while my sister was threatened with sexual violence. They spent eight years on death row, separated from their four children, living in constant fear. Even after their acquittal, their trauma remains, and they now live in exile, unable to return home.
Yet, they are not alone. Others, like Nadeem Masih and Zafar Bhatti, have endured prolonged imprisonment in horrific conditions. Shagufta Kiran was locked in a dark, airless cell for months, while Anwar Kenneth has been shackled on death row for 23 years despite his deteriorating mental health. Minority prisoners in Pakistan suffer severe mistreatment, denied their right to practice their faith and subjected to violence by both inmates and prison officials.
These human rights abuses demand urgent global attention. Freedom of religion or belief and the prohibition of torture are fundamental principles of human dignity and justice. The coercion, violence,
and institutionalized discrimination faced by religious minorities in Pakistan must be recognized as forms of torture and degrading treatment, requiring immediate intervention.
The international community cannot afford to remain silent. We must:
1. Push for reforms to Pakistan’s blasphemy laws to prevent their misuse.
2. End forced conversions and protect minority girls from abduction and abuse.
3. Demand accountability for torture, extrajudicial killings, and mob violence.
4. Address bonded labour and forced labour by ensuring the enforcement of anti-slavery laws.
5. Eliminate religious discrimination in education and uphold the rights of all citizens equally.
Pakistan’s continued failure to address these human rights violations is a stain on its legal and political institutions. We must demand accountability, legal reforms, and concrete action to protect vulnerable communities. Human rights are not privileges—they are universal, and they must be upheld without exception.
We must stand together in solidarity with victims of religious persecution, forced labor, and torture.
------
Joseph Janasen is a Pakistani activist and human rights defender based in Belgium.
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism