Blasphemy lynchings in Pakistan have taken the lives of people before courts could determine whether the accusations against them were true.
A fundamental principle of criminal justice is simple:
An accused person is not a convicted person.
Yet Pakistan has repeatedly witnessed people killed after blasphemy allegations before courts could determine their guilt or innocence.
Manzoor Masih
Christian defendant Manzoor Masih was attacked outside court in 1994 while facing a blasphemy prosecution alongside Salamat and Rehmat Masih.
He was killed.
His co-defendants survived.
They were subsequently acquitted.
Shama and Shahzad Masih
In November 2014, the Christian couple were attacked following allegations involving religious material.
A mob beat them and burned them in a brick-kiln furnace.
No final judicial determination preceded their deaths.
Mashal Khan
In April 2017, university student Mashal Khan was accused of blasphemous online expression.
A mob attacked him on campus.
He was beaten and shot.
Investigators subsequently failed to substantiate the blasphemy allegation.
Priyantha Kumara
In December 2021, Sri Lankan factory manager Priyantha Kumara was accused of blasphemy in Sialkot.
A mob killed him and burned his body.
Waris
In 2023, Waris was already detained inside a police station when a mob stormed the building.
They dragged him outside and killed him.
Nazir Masih
In 2024, elderly Christian Nazir Masih was attacked in Sargodha after allegations involving desecrated Quranic material.
He later died from his injuries.
Why Documentation Matters
A lynching can disappear from public memory after several news cycles.
A permanent archive preserves:
the victim’s name,
religion,
date,
location,
nature of accusation,
status of the criminal case,
circumstances of death,
and whether perpetrators were prosecuted.
That distinction matters historically.
The victim should never be remembered merely as “a blasphemer killed by a mob.”
The accurate description is:
a person accused of blasphemy who was killed before due process was completed.
Conclusion
A mob cannot investigate evidence.
It cannot test witnesses.
It cannot hear an appeal.
It cannot correct a mistake.
Once a person is dead, no later discovery of innocence can restore their life.
That is why lynching is not an alternative form of justice.
It is the destruction of justice.
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