Pakistan — Muslim vigilante groups are working with federal authorities to lure young people into sharing blasphemous content on social media in order to put them behind bars, according to an investigation by Pakistan’s National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR).

A steep increase in blasphemy cases this year, many of them filed against Christians and other religious minorities, is tied to collusion between Muslim vigilantes and federal investigators, according to the NCHR report. Pakistan saw three times as many blasphemy cases in the first seven month of this year compared with all of last year, according to the NCHR investigation.

As of July 25, there were 767 people accused of blasphemy languishing in jails across Pakistan, whereas in 2023 there were 213 suspects incarcerated for blasphemy, 64 in 2022, nine in 2021 and 11 in 2020, according to the data gathered by the NCHR.

“Most of the blasphemy cases were registered with the Federal Investigation Agency’s Cybercrime Unit in collaboration with a private entity,” the NCHR noted, adding that young men were targeted through entrapment tactics involving females using pseudonyms to lure them into blasphemous activities online.

At least 594 blasphemy suspects were imprisoned in Punjab Province alone, followed by 120 in Sindh Province, 64 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, and two in Balochistan Province, the NCHR added.

The report follows a study by the Special Branch of the Punjab Police released in January, which for the first time revealed the presence of a “blasphemy business” that exploits the controversial blasphemy laws to entrap victims for extortion.

According to the Special Branch report, a majority of the cases were being brought to trial by private “vigilante groups” led by lawyers and supported by volunteers who scour the internet for offenders.

One such group was responsible for the conviction of 27 people who have been sentenced to life imprisonment or the death penalty over the past three years, the report revealed. It recommended the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) launch a thorough inquiry to determine the source of the vigilante groups’ funding, but the agency’s response was unknown.

The most active vigilante group is the Legal Commission on Blasphemy Pakistan, which is prosecuting more than 300 cases, led by Shiraz Ahmad Farooqi, the complainant in the blasphemy conviction of a 40-year-old Christian woman, Shagufta Kiran. Kiran was handed the death sentence by a special judge in Islamabad on Sept. 18.

The NCHR’s report called for “a comprehensive review” of the roles and accountability of both government and private entities. It also noted the inhumane conditions of blasphemy suspects in jails.

“Individuals accused of blasphemy are housed together in single, severely overcrowded barracks to protect them from potential harm by other inmates who may attack or threaten them,” the NCHR reported. “However, this arrangement results in inhumane living conditions, as the barracks lack adequate facilities and are grossly overcrowded.”

Detainees also face coercion, extortion and pressure from the vigilantes involved in their entrapment, “who sometimes encourage them to engage in further criminal activities within the prison,” according to the report.

The NCHR recommended engaging the highest levels of government and judiciary to address the FIA’s involvement with Muslim individuals and vigilante groups entrapping people. It also urged constituting a Joint Investigation Team comprising officials from the Special Branch of the Intelligence Bureau, the ministries of Law and the Interior, the FIA, and other relevant departments to investigate blasphemy cases.

Mere allegations of blasphemy in Muslim-majority Pakistan can ignite public outrage and sometimes result in mob violence. Hundreds of people have been accused and jailed for alleged blasphemy, and some were handed the death penalty, though none has been executed so far.

The United Nations Human Rights Committee on Oct. 17 observed that Pakistani authorities have failed to curb a range of human rights violations, including a sharp increase in blasphemy-related violence. Expressing serious concern over frequent attacks against religious minorities, including accusations of blasphemy, targeted killings, lynchings, mob violence, forced conversions, and desecration of places of worship, the committee stated that Pakistani society has become increasingly intolerant of religious diversity.

“Religious minorities are facing a constant threat of persecution and discrimination amid the rise of religious radicalism,” the committee stated.

Pakistan ranked seventh on Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List of the most difficult places to be a Christian, as it was the previous year.
Sources:Christian Post

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Three Christian organisations on Tuesday submitted a joint representation to the the Dima Hasao district administration seeking lawful action against VHP leader Surendra Jain for his “unfounded” allegation about the Church’s involvement in the “drug business”.

The organisations did not specify Jain’s allegation, but a Church leader told The Telegraph that they submitted the representation to “express their deep shock, pain and disappointment” over Jain’s attempt to “malign” the Christian community during the launch of the Joya Thaosen Computer Learning Centre in Haflong on October 27.

Jain had purportedly said: “Today I realized that the drug business is also done on a large scale by the Church. On one hand, the church is destroying our culture, insulting the traditions, beliefs here and also destroying the life of the people here.”

“Conversion is a challenge, we do answer it but we will also tell the church. You keep going to the church, the Christians here should follow their faith, we have no objection. But if you disturb the law and order here, hurt the beliefs here, do drug trade, this will not be accepted and the society takes it as a challenge,” Jain had said while referring to the Church’s alleged contribution to the “drug business” in the district.

In its representation to the Dima Hasao deputy commissioner, the United Christian Forum of Dima Hasao, the United Christian Forum of Karbi Anglong and the Assam Christian Forum, stated that Jain used the “auspicious occasion” meant for honouring the memory of Joya Thaosen, a revered freedom fighter “respected” by all communities, as a platform “to malign and spew venom againstthe Christian community”.

The organisations said that Jain’s “baseless accusations” are “not only harmful but appear to be intentional, with a clear intent of maligning an entire community that has greatly contributed to the region” in sectors “such as education, healthcare, social welfare, literature, media, research, relief and sustainable development”.

Jain’s statements insinuating that the Church is involved in “illegal activities” are “unfounded, baseless and unacceptable” and these “threaten to create mistrust, undermine unity and harm the inclusiveness that is crucial for the peaceful co-existence and progress of the country and Assam”, the representation said.

The organisations then urged the deputy commissioner “to take action against Mr Jain under the law of the land and as per the provision of the Constitution for his demeaning remarks, that have hurt the religious sentiments of the entire Christian community.”
Sources:christiansworldnews

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ഫിലദെൽഫ്യാ ചർച്ച് ഓഫ് ഗോഡ് അഖിലേന്ത്യ ശുശ്രൂഷക സമ്മേളനം 2024 നവംബർ 14 വ്യാഴം മുതൽ 17 ഞായർ വരെ മഞ്ഞാടിയിലുള്ള ഡോ. ജോസഫ് മാർത്തോമാ ക്യാമ്പ് സെന്ററിൽ വെച്ച് നടത്തപ്പെടും. 14 വ്യാഴാഴ്ച്ച രാവിലെ 9.30 ന് സെക്രട്ടറി പാ. വി ജി ഈശോയുടെ അദ്ധ്യക്ഷതയിൽ ഫിലദെൽഫ്യാ ദൈവ സഭാ ഇന്റർ നാഷണൽ പ്രസിഡന്റ്‌ റവ. എൻ. എ. ഫിലിപ്പ് സമ്മേളനം ഉദ്ഘാടനം നിർവഹിക്കും. പ്രസ്തുത സമ്മേളനത്തിൽ റവ. എൻ. എ ഫിലിപ്പ്, പാസ്റ്റർ വർഗീസ് ബേബി, പാസ്റ്റർ എബി എബ്രഹാം, പാസ്റ്റർ ഫെയ്ത് ബ്ലെസ്സൺ എന്നിവരും സഭയിലെ മറ്റു സീനിയർ ശുശ്രൂഷകന്മാരും വിവിധ സെക്ഷനുകളിൽ വചനം സംസാരിക്കും. ഇന്ത്യയുടെ വിവിധ സംസ്ഥാനങ്ങളിൽ നിന്നും ഉള്ള ശുശ്രൂഷകന്മാർ ഈ സമ്മേളനത്തിൽ സംബന്ധിക്കും. സമ്മേളനത്തോടൊപ്പം ബൈബിൾ സ്കൂളിന്റെ ഗ്രാഡ്ജുവേഷൻ സർവസും നടത്തപ്പെടും. ഞായറാഴ്ച ഉച്ചക്ക് പൊതു സഭായോഗത്തോടെ ഈ സമ്മേളനം സമാപിക്കും.
Sources:christiansworldnews

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