BEWARE: Group 'honey-trapping' youngsters in blasphemy on social media

A report issued by the Special Branch in Punjab has revealed that over 400 young boys and girls are reportedly being persecuted in Pakistan under the blasphemy law for sharing blasphemous content on the internet.

The report stated that the suspicious gang “The Blasphemy Business” trapped young boys and girls into "committing” blasphemy and then reported them to the Federal Investigating Agency (FIA). The gang is reportedly doing this heinous act for financial gain.

Young prisoners under blasphemy charges are reportedly from diverse fields, including Hafiz-e-Quran, software engineers, electrical, mechanical, civil and chemical engineers. All of the blasphemy victims belong to poor and middle-class families, the report said.

FIA confirmed receiving the report on the “The Blasphemy Business” group in January 2024, in which it mentioned that a special gang is a complainant in 90 per cent of blasphemy cases, the document added.

Moreover, the document noted that reportedly the “The Blasphemy Business” has been headed by a lawyer, Rao Abdur Raheem Advocate, based in Islamabad, whose Whatsapp account is linked to a mobile number in Spain that was reportedly involved in malpractice and under his chairmanship, the gang is involved in trapping youth in blasphemy cases and then extorting money from the accused.

In an interview with Fact Focus, responding to the extreme punishment and the possibility of unintentional errors by some of the accused, the lawyer said, “If any part of the body is affected by cancer, that part is cut out. There is no other solution.”

How did the group trap naive youth?

The report disclosed that obscene images with objectionable material were sent to the victims via WhatsApp; when the receiver protested, the sender denied that he initially sent it and then asked for the image to be shown.

The recipient would resend the picture, after which the sender would block them; later, the recipient would be arrested and accused of originating the blasphemous content, the report said.

The report explained that the gang further runs social media groups named “United Mazhabi Story, Laiba Mazhabi King and Azad Mazhabi Ilam,” where their modus operandi of trapping innocents is the same as described above.

The 40 families of victims of blasphemy cases peacefully protested outside the National Press Club Islamabad on October 2, 2024, and demanded the federal government set up an inquiry commission under the Inquiry Commission Act to investigate the issue.

Prominent journalist Ali Hamza reported that Advocate Usman Warraich is representing the victim’s family in a petition filed in Islamabad High Court (IHC) to probe the Special Branch Punjab Report.

Warraich said: “At least 400 families are suffering because of these allegations.”

“We were instructed in a letter to bring your son [at the police station] for inquiry. As responsible citizens, we produced our son before police….when we informed them [police] that our son is blind and incapable of committing any wrongdoing, taftishi (investigator) put my son behind bars and demanded one lac rupees for my son's release,” alleged victim's mother, Saeeda Bibi, while speaking to Voicepkdotnet on Sunday (January 12) in Islamabad.

“We are poor people; they [police] conducted two raids on our home, and broke down its walls,” she haltingly said, adding that she has been fighting her son's case for three years, and the legal expenses have led them to the brink of bankruptcy.