Pakistan: Activists sound alarm over hate crimes

A handicapped man was set ablaze in Ghotki, Pakistan on October 1, 2022. When the victim jumped into a nearby pond to extinguish fire, the attacker, apparently a student of a religious seminary, followed him, strangling him to death. The reason, according to media reports, were accusations of blasphemy. The video of the killing went viral online.

The killing sent shockwaves across Pakistani society, especially among minority communities in the deeply religious country where most people identify as Sunni Muslims.

Just a few days later, Shiite scholar Naveed Ashiq was killed in the eastern Punjab province.

In a separate incident, a radical Sunni cleric in the same province called for the killing of pregnant women from the Ahmadi religious sect. The Ahmadi are not recognized as Muslim under Pakistani law.

Claims of blasphemy can be especially dangerous in Pakistan. Human rights groups believe most accusers use these claims to settle personal scores and property disputes as well as other minor issues.

Records show that 1,415 people were accused of blasphemy between 1947 and 2021. According to the Center for Research and Security Studies, a Pakistani think thank, 81 of the accused were killed — 71 men and 10 women.

Hate crimes on rise

Disturbingly, the number of incidents which involve accusations of blasphemy and hate crimes against minorities appears to be rising.

In December 2021, a Sri Lankan man was lynched in Sialkot city of Punjab while this February a man accused of desecrating the Holy Quran was beaten to death by a mob in the Punjabi town of Khanewal.

Recently, a school in the city of Attock, in the same eastern province, expelled four Ahmadi children. The reason provided by the school was merely that they were Ahmadi, said Amir Mahmood, Punjab spokesperson for Jamaat-e-Ahmadi, an Ahmadi organization.

The Ahmadi representative told DW that social media was awash in hate literature against his community, complete with anti-Ahmadi banners and posters. This has, in some cases, led to blasphemy allegations, Mahmood said.

No action from the state

Recently, a gathering of a Sunni extremist outfit in Islamabad openly chanted slogans against Shiite Muslims. Several politicians and even one of Pakistan's top judges have also openly denigrated minorities in recent years.

Activists and minority communities point to the culture of impunity as one of the reasons behind the attacks on minorities and blasphemy accusations which can also target Muslims.

Even high-ranking politicians are not immune against extremist attacks. Pakistan's current planning minister, Ahsan Iqbal, was shot and wounded in 2018 by an Islamist hardliner. Iqbal served as the country's interior minister at the time.

Asad Butt, co-chair of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, also believes that the number of hate crimes and blasphemy claims is on the rise. He slammed the Pakistani government for ignoring the problem.

"Instead of taking action, the government is talking to the Taliban who killed Christians, Ahmadis and many Muslims and extremist groups that spread hate against minorities," he told DW.

This attitude encourages extremists to peddle hate against minorities and encourage lynchings against those accused of blasphemy, Butt said.

Element of fear

Activist Sadia from Okara in Punjab believes that the extremist groups wield immense influence in Pakistani society. This influence is enough to deter people from questioning the claims of those accusing others of blasphemy, she said, adding that if a person is accused of blasphemy, people simply start gathering outside their residence without subjecting the claims to any scrutiny.

"In such matters the sense of fear is so profound that you can't dare to ask those who accuse anyone of blasphemy," Sadia told DW.

This element of fear encourages extremists in their lynchings and hate campaigns, and neither politicians nor ordinary people are ready to break this fear-based framework, she said.

Some activists believe that unregulated growth of religious seminaries has fed the increase in hate crimes and claims of blasphemy. The killer of handicapped man in Ghotki is said to be a student of a religious seminary.

Political activist Naghma Iqtidar points out that religious seminaries can now be found in every part of the Pakistani province of Sindh, marking a significant change compared to two decades ago.

"Hate crimes and accusations of blasphemy have also risen during the same period," she told DW.

TLP gaining strength

Pakistan has witnessed an immense popularity of a religious group called Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) during the last 14 years. The far-right group fiercely opposes any amendments to the country's blasphemy laws. In 2017, it paralyzed the capital Islamabad by staging a massive sit-in and demanding the resignation of Zahid Hamid, who was the justice minister at the time. Hamid eventually stepped down.

Last year, TLP supporters clashed with the police, leading to several deaths. The unrest started after their leader was arrested for giving the Pakistani government an ultimatum and insisting they expel the French ambassador over a blasphemy dispute. TLP leader, Saad Rizvi, was eventually released in November 2021 and a short-lived ban on the party was lifted.

A follower of the group is believed to be responsible for the killing of an Ahmadi man in Chiniot in late September 2022.

Many critics claim that the organization not only carries out vitriolic attacks on minorities but also on anyone daring to challenge them.

Punjabi activist Sadia believes the TLP is more powerful than any other religious group in Pakistan today. Naghma Iqtidar from Sindh claims their rise has created more intolerance in society, leading to more accusations of blasphemy.

Human rights commission chair Butt notes that the group has tens of thousands of voters across Pakistan and has even managed to win two seats in the province of Sindh.

Government's stance

Critics believe a vast number of hate crimes go unreported. Anis Haroon, a member of the National Commission on Human Rights, says no institution in Pakistan records such incidents.

But Muhammad Jalal-ud-din, the leader of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party (the Party of Islamic Scholars), which is part of the ruling coalition, rejects claims that hate crimes are on the rise.

He told DW that minorities in Pakistan are awarded all rights under the country's constitution. The politician insisted that the government was not lenient towards anyone preaching hatred. Jalal-ud-din also rejected the alleged link between religion-fueled violence and talks with the Taliban, saying that the talks were a completely separate issue.

"Anyone breaking the law would be brought to justice, including those attempting to stir hatred," he said.

Edited by: Darko Janjevic