Who is accused of blasphemy in Pakistan? The answer includes Muslims as well as Christians, Ahmadis, Hindus and members of other communities.
Pakistan’s blasphemy controversy is sometimes described exclusively as persecution of religious minorities.
That description misses an important part of the story.
Muslims are accused too.
Yet minority communities remain particularly vulnerable relative to their much smaller population size and broader social circumstances.
Understanding both facts is essential.
Muslim Victims
Muslim victims include:
Mashal Khan,
Junaid Hafeez,
Younus Shaikh,
Waris,
Abdul Ali,
and Dr Shahnawaz Kunbhar.
Some have been imprisoned.
Others have received death sentences.
Several have been killed extrajudicially.
Christian Victims
Christians include some of Pakistan’s most internationally recognised defendants:
Asia Bibi,
Ayub Masih,
Salamat Masih,
Sawan Masih,
Shagufta Kausar,
Shafqat Emmanuel,
Shama Masih,
and Shahzad Masih.
In several Christian cases, violence expanded beyond the accused and engulfed neighbourhoods.
Ahmadis
Ahmadis face an additional layer of legal restriction because Pakistani law places specific limits on Ahmadi religious expression and self-identification.
Their vulnerability therefore cannot be understood through general blasphemy provisions alone.
Hindus
Pakistan’s Hindu minority has also experienced blasphemy allegations.
One particularly striking case involved an eight-year-old Hindu child.
Numbers Need Context
Raw numbers can mislead.
If Muslims constitute the majority of defendants, that does not prove minorities are unaffected.
Pakistan itself is overwhelmingly Muslim.
A meaningful analysis must compare accusations with population size, socioeconomic position and the consequences experienced after accusation.
Conclusion
This should never become a competition over victimhood.
A Muslim murdered after a false accusation deserves justice.
A Christian sentenced to death and later acquitted deserves justice.
An Ahmadi imprisoned for religious expression deserves justice.
A Hindu child caught in a blasphemy controversy deserves protection.
The principle must remain universal:
Due process does not belong to one religion.
Read in Dutch | German | Italian | Portuguese
