The lawyer asserts that the father of three could be unfit to stand trial.
On November 3, residents of a Lahore neighborhood fled their homes because of fear of Islamist anger following the arrest of a Christian under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, sources report.
Following accusations by Muslims in Ward No. 12 of Kahna, Lahore, Punjab Province, that Zafar Iqbal burned Quranic pages in his courtyard, panic spread in the area, reported rights activist Napolean Qayyum.
“As news spread, many Christian families locked their homes and left for safer places, fearing a Jaranwala-type attack on their homes,” he said.
After the afternoon prayers, two neighborhood Muslims informed Qari Mujahid Abbas Fareedi, the imam of the Noorani Mosque, that Iqbal was burning Quranic pages in his home, according to an FIR he filed with the Kahna police.
“The complainant said that he and other Muslims discovered Iqbal standing near burning papers when they went to his house,” Qayyum reported. “He claimed that when they sifted through the burnt pages, they found they were from the Quran.”
The FIR states that the complainant and other Muslims swiftly took Iqbal into custody and called the police, Qayyum said.
Many Christian residents fled their homes as news of the alleged blasphemy spread, and members of Islamist outfits, including the extremist Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), started gathering there, he said.
“The residents feared the situation could turn violent, so they left as a precaution,” Qayyum said. “However, timely intervention by senior officials and arrest of the suspect helped in placating the religious activists and thwarting any violence against other Christians.”
Christian families began returning to their homes, he added.
Section 295-B of Pakistan’s criticized blasphemy statutes, which carry a life sentence for desecrating the Quran, was the charge against Iqbal.
“Iqbal is now in prison on judicial remand while his family has gone into hiding and is inaccessible,” Qayyum said. “Iqbal is over 40 years old and has three children. He is also said to be suffering from some mental illness. The situation will become clearer when we contact his family.”
Christian lawyer Lazar Allah Rakha said that if reports of Iqbal having an intellectual disability were true, then he would not be fit to stand trial or be punished under the law.
Rakha, a lawyer with a record of successful blasphemy defense, proposed a mental health evaluation by a medical board to dismiss charges if the accused is potentially deemed unsound.
On August 16, 2023, Muslim mobs in Jaranwala, Faisalabad District, Punjab Province, burned down numerous churches and homes belonging to Christians after accusing two Christian brothers of writing blasphemous material and desecrating the Quran.
The charges were dismissed in March after a court learned that another Christian had made the accusations against them.
‘Blasphemy Business’
Mere allegations of blasphemy in Muslim-majority Pakistan can ignite public outrage and sometimes result in mob violence. While blasphemy accusations have led to numerous arrests and death sentences, no executions have taken place.
An investigative report by Pakistan’s National Commission for Human Rights issued on October 31 revealed that 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.
Pakistan saw three times as many blasphemy cases in the first seven months of this year compared with all of last year, according to the NCHR investigation.
As of July 25, Pakistan held 767 individuals accused of blasphemy, a significant increase from the previous year. According to the NCHR, 213 people faced blasphemy charges in 2023, compared to 64 in 2022, 9 in 2021, and 11 in 2020.
The NCHR reported that the FIA’s Cybercrime Unit, which collaborated with a private organization, received most blasphemy cases. They noted that young men were frequently the victims of entrapment tactics, where females used false identities to entice them into engaging in sinful activities online.
The NCHR reports that a minimum of 594 individuals were taken into custody in Punjab Province on charges connected to blasphemy.
Additionally, 120 suspects were in Sindh Province, 64 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, and two in Balochistan Province.
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.
The United Nations Human Rights Committee on October 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 challenging places to be a Christian, as it was the previous year.