It seems the floodgates have opened, and no one appears remotely interested in closing them. Just days after blasphemy charges and instances of vigilante mob justice against those accused, police in Chichawatni have registered yet another case of blasphemy—this time for a man’s posts on Facebook. While some may argue that if a person commits blasphemy, they must face the consequences, the troubling reality is that mere allegations now trigger extreme reactions. Those making these accusations are often well aware that such claims will provoke swift and violent responses.

As a result, the police are now stationed around the clock at the accused man’s home, where his wife and three children reside, to protect them from roaming vigilantes. Given the ferocity of the mob, it’s likely they will need protection for an extended period. In an era of AI, deep fakes, voice modulation, and the manipulation of images, videos, and audio, the risk of false accusations is ever-increasing. The terrifying prospect is that innocent people could be wrongly accused, and in some cases, they may be executed by an uncontrollable mob of extremists before the truth can even emerge.

Today, it’s an unknown man in Chichawatni. Tomorrow, it could be your family, someone you know, or even a government official working to improve Pakistan. What is even more alarming is that, despite the gravity of the situation, the government appears to have lost any will to intervene. There have been no condemnations, no inquiries, and no administrative action taken against the vigilante police officers who have broken the law to kill those they were supposed to protect.

We are entering dangerous territory, and someone in the government must take responsibility and work to stem this tide. Otherwise, a day will come when nothing can halt this wave of extremism, and a simple accusation from a religious party will be enough to condemn someone to death before they even have a chance to defend themselves.