Islamabad - Over 40 families of those accused in blasphemy cases held a press conference at the National Press Club Islamabad on Wednesday and demanded the federal government constitute an inquiry commission under the Inquiry Commission Act to probe the matter.
Adv Usman Warraich, who has filed a petition in Islamabad High Court, was representing the families. He said that special branch had issued a report in January 2024, according to which a group was operating in the country and trapping innocent people with their nefarious designs. That report was sent to all quarters concerned, including the federal government, provincial governments, IGs, and DGs. “We also wrote to the Cabinet and Interior divisions, the human rights division, and even to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. No action has been taken on these reports,” said Warraich. “We have a report of the special branch and an interview of the former FIA DG Syed Kaleem Imam given to Voice of America, which authenticates the findings of the special branch,” said Warraich. “This needs to be looked into to find out how the group operates, if they appear in front of the commission and they’re vindicated by the independent commission, the aggrieved families are even willing to accept that decision. We are not saying to discharge the accused from the case,” he added.
“At least 400 families are suffering because of these allegations. We approached Islamabad High Court, and they sent notices to the respondents. Five people, including a female, have died during detention because of torture before and after the arrest,” maintained Warraich at the press conference. Father of one of the accused also spoke at the press conference and said his son was a BS Physics student at Punjab University, and a woman approached him via WhatsApp and asked him to help her find a job. They kept talking for about a week when she sent him a blasphemous picture; he asked why she sent him the picture, and she replied she didn’t send anything, maybe someone else used her phone. When he sent the blasphemous picture back to her, she reported it to FIA, and he was arrested, and now he’s facing the trial. After the press conference, a peaceful protest was also recorded by the families outside the press club. The special branch report states that a suspicious gang is trapping youth in blasphemy cases and extorting money from them after approaching FIA in Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
The report further stated that this gang, which is Complainant, in about 90 percent of the blasphemy cases. Several men and women are part of this gang, which is reportedly headed by Sheraz Ahmed Farooqi, who poses as a worker of TLP. A lawyer, Rao Abdul Raheem, is also part of this gang. They have formed an organization named “Legal Commission on Blasphemy Pakistan. The Special Branch report further stated that some of the social media groups of the gang are United Mazhabi Story, Laiba Mazhabi King, Azad Mazhabi Islam, etc. Rao Abdul Raheem, advocate, one of the gang members, seems to be impressed by Mumtaz Qadri and was involved in a kidnapping cum murder case in Islamabad in 2022, which later on ended in a compromise.
A writ petition signed by 101 complainants was filed at Islamabad High Court by Adv Usman Warraich last month. Justice Sardar Ijaz Ishaq Khan presided over the hearing and sent notices to respondents, which included the Federation of Pakistan, the Ministry of Human Rights, the Ministry of Interior, the Federal Investigation Agency, the Intelligence Bureau, and the National Commission of Human Rights.
The court order stated that the petition brings fore a report prepared by Special Branch of Punjab Police unearthing a concerted scheme of trapping young men and women into blasphemy charges to blackmail them. The contents of the petition are of extreme concern, and even greater concern is the fact that the petitioners’ written application to the Federal Government through the Ministry of Interior to constitute a commission of inquiry under the Commission of Inquiry Act 2017 has remained unaddressed, so far.
The court gave the order to respondents to file their written replies within 2 weeks and adjourned the hearing till October 11th. Meanwhile, the Prevention of Electronic Crime Act Court presided by Additional District and Sessions Judge Afzal Majoka at District Judicial Complex Islamabad has been hearing the cases every week. There are almost 33 cases in his court right now. A Christian woman was sentenced to death, a man was given life imprisonment, and another man was acquitted by the local Court 2 weeks ago. 8 applications of acquittal were denied last week by Judge Majoka.