A recent Reuters report said that registered blasphemy cases have seen a huge drop this year, after Pakistan’s army chief cracked down on fundamentalist groups.  

After years of widespread increases in blasphemy accusations, such a reversal seems like a positive development. But Pakistanis don’t necessarily feel the official numbers tell the whole story.  

“Hamza,” a Pakistani Muslim man who wants to reform blasphemy laws and now lives abroad, acknowledged the official numbers have dropped. “But personally I don’t think that means the underlying problem has been solved,” he said.  

Blasphemy accusations have been an incendiary matter in Pakistan for decades, and the frequency of these accusations can fluctuate wildly. For example, the number of blasphemy accusations recorded in 2024 was more than 40 times higher than in 2020. 

Each accusation, however unfounded, can easily lead to the sort of mob violence that renders dozens of families homeless in one wave of fiery destruction.  

“Once a blasphemy allegation spreads, it can become impossible to know who may turn up or how far things may go,” Hamza said. 

The prospect of such mayhem helped to create an extortion racket known as “The Blasphemy Business,” in which a network of people, including officials from Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency, would work in tandem to trap people into saying, or ostensibly condoning, blasphemous things on social media and then extorting them for money. In some cases, the victims of such extortion died during interrogation at unofficial detention facilities.  

Additionally, the National Commission for Human Rights in Pakistan reported that the number of persons incarcerated for blasphemy offenses skyrocketed from nine in 2021 to 213 in 2023. Then, in the first two months of 2024, the number shot up further to 475.  

The leading hardline political party behind this trajectory was Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP).  

TLP was banned by Pakistan’s government in October 2025 shortly after violent protests that caused the deaths of one police officer and four civilians.  

TLP had been banned before, in April 2021, for violent activity. But that ban was lifted by the end of that year, and the group soon returned to its old habits.  

Hamza described TLP as having “enormous influence” on blasphemy issues. “Even when the organization itself is restricted, or under pressure, the emotions and networks built around this issue do not disappear overnight,” he said, pointing out that “networks and people involved can continue operating in different ways.”  

Even prominent Muslim clerics are not immune to blasphemy accusations and the violence that frequently accompanies them. 

“My feeling is that public exposure forced the system to become more careful for the time being,” Hamza said. “But I don’t believe the networks behind this misuse have simply disappeared.” 

The apparent involvement of Pakistani officials in digital entrapment and blasphemy accusations for profit had created such dysfunction that a crackdown of some sort had to take place.  

Also, such rampant abuse of blasphemy laws had become an international embarrassment: One man, the brother of an influential Islamic cleric, filed blasphemy complaints against 26 people in four years.  

Analysts suspect Pakistan’s recent crackdown was driven less by humanitarian concerns than by economic ones, as the country seeks improved relations with the West and trading opportunities, including EU tax waivers on Pakistani products.  

Muslims comprise more than 96% of Pakistan’s overall population, and most people accused of blasphemy are themselves Muslim. However, religious minorities — including Christians and members of minority Islamic sects, such as the Ahmadiyya — face accusations at a disproportionately higher rate.  

Additionally, religious minorities in Pakistan “face a different level of vulnerability” when they are accused, said “Elijah,” a Pakistani Christian man still living in Pakistan. He explained that such minorities tend to lack the political and institutional influence needed to defend themselves effectively when accusations surface.  

Hamza added that “Minorities, particularly Christians in poorer or rural communities, can become extremely vulnerable because an accusation can spread much faster than facts.” 

The harshest punishments for “blasphemy” in Pakistan are often meted out in the streets instead of the courts. “A blasphemy accusation doesn’t always need to reach a courtroom to destroy someone’s life,” Elijah said. “Even without formal charges, your reputation, livelihood, and family’s safety can be put at risk.” 

Just threatening to make a blasphemy accusation can cause entire families to uproot their lives and relocate to a different city. Hamza said that the very utterance of the word “blasphemy” during a dispute “is enough to frighten an entire family.”   

Even if the number of blasphemy accusations has dropped this year, the blasphemy laws themselves have stayed unchanged. So the same foundation remains, one on which accusations can reach startling heights. 

Many Pakistanis understand blasphemy laws are easily abused and can create a vortex of fear and corruption. But Elijah does not think most Pakistanis overall would support repealing them.  

“There are certainly Muslims who oppose false accusations, mob violence, and the exploitation of religion for personal revenge,” Elijah said. “But opposing the misuse of blasphemy laws and supporting their complete repeal are two different things.” 

“People may speak against false accusations or misuse, but openly questioning the law itself can bring serious consequences,” Hamza added. “Very few people are willing to openly call for abolishing the laws.” 

Even people educated enough to craft convincing arguments for reform “hesitate to directly challenge the laws because they understand the risks,” said Hamza, who has come to understand the “risks” firsthand.  

Hamza’s involvement in discussing reform of blasphemy laws led to him being physically attacked in his homeland. And he continues to receive threats on social media. If he ever returns to Pakistan, it would be at severe personal risk.  

“I find it very difficult to imagine major reform in the near future,” Hamza said, adding, “My concern is that once public attention fades, the same practices could return.” 

When considering Pakistan’s laws along with the prevailing social attitudes, Elijah feels the “conditions that allow religious extremism to flourish will remain.” 

“Decades of radicalization have severely damaged Pakistan’s social fabric,” Elijah said. He doesn’t think the crackdown on TLP necessarily means Pakistan is overcoming extremism or that religious minorities are any safer.  

“You can arrest leaders, ban organizations, and prevent demonstrations,” he said. “But how do you eliminate decades of religious intolerance from people’s minds?” 

Story by R. Cavanaugh 

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