“I looked at my son lying on the floor in the FIA detention cell and almost didn’t recognize him. What I saw was heartbreaking: my only son had been brutally tortured, the mother of young boy, a false blasphemy case victim, says.

In just one week, he had lost a significant amount of weight. He was threatened, beaten, and subjected to electric shocks in his genital area. He was given just enough food and water to keep him alive. I was informed that my son had already ‘confessed’ to the crime.  – Under such horrendous conditions, how could anyone not ‘confess’ to any crime?”

One week ago, he traveled to Islamabad to meet his new friend, Eman, but instead, he went missing. We filed an FIR, seeking police assistance to locate him, but we were shocked to learn that he was in FIA custody, charged with the most serious criminal offenses in Pakistan: Sections 295 A, B, and C, and II PECA 2016. I was summoned to the FIA office to sign legal documents. After pleading desperately, offering a cash bribe, and enduring a long wait, I was finally allowed to see him and that’s when my never-ending ordeal started – Statement of a mother of the victim of blasphemy business group

Five victims of false blasphemy cases have died in jails as a result of severe torture, denial of healthcare, and neglect by jail authorities. They include a 22-year-old girl from Lahore named Fatima Jahangir.

The custodial killings of these four young men and a young woman have raised a crucial question: If the evidence against them is so ‘airtight’ and conclusive, why does the FIA resort to such brutal methods to extract confessions?

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Pakistan is prosecuting over 400 young individuals on flimsy blasphemy charges, orchestrated by a so-called “blasphemy business group” led by one Rao Abdul Rahim in collusion with FIA officials. In the past few months, many of these youngsters have been subjected to brutal physical torture and threats have been made to their families, forcing them to “confess” to their alleged crimes.

Deaths in Prison due to torture

Fatima Jahangir

Fatima Jahangir, a vibrant 22-year-old girl, was a cherished daughter known for her quiet, gentle and kind personality. She was tragically killed in custody at Kot Lakhpat Prison about six months ago. She was the third of 4 siblings. She had completed high school. Before her arrest, she was a distance learning student at Allama Iqbal Open University for her intermediate studies and was also studying the Quran with Tafseer in Lahore.

A blasphemy case (FIR No: 106/22) registered against her by complainant Muhammad Irfan. The case was handled by FIA Deputy Director Mudassir Shah. She was arrested on May 26, 2022, and passed away after continuous torture in Kot Lakhpat Prison on April 02, 2024. Her dead body was shifted to Jinnah hospital.

Muhammad Irfan, like other members of the blasphemy business group, has filed multiple blasphemy FIR’s against various individuals.

Reports also indicate that Fatima’s mental health deteriorated significantly while in prison, exacerbated by the blasphemy accusation, torture, and mistreatment she endured.

Review of her case file also exposed the failure of the justice system. The judge was informed during the court hearing that Fatima had passed away, and he still issued orders “summoning” her for the next hearing. Fact Focus did not find any evidence of Judge ordering a postmortem in the court files, which is a crucial step in determining the cause of death of a female captive under state jurisdiction.

On May 27, 2023, Geo and Jang Group, while reporting an incident involving Fatima in jail, irresponsibly stated that she was ‘convicted’ of blasphemy. This was a fake news. Fatima was never convicted in this or any other case, a fact independently verified by Fact Focus through the legal team involved and court records. This reporting further fueled negative sentiments against Fatima.

Given many accounts, there is no doubt that the officials at Kot Lakhpat Jail systematically caused Fatima’s death. Whether they acted in collusion with FIA officials remains unclear. In her second-to-last weekly meeting with her family, she was extremely weak and struggled to stand. By the time of her final weekly meeting, she was unable to stand at all. Despite her worsening condition, the ruthless jail administration never transferred her to a hospital until she died.

Irresponsible media reporting surrounding Fatima’s death added to the trauma of her already suffering family. Samaa News reported that a prisoner had died in jail and that her family had not come to claim the body. Samaa News failed to inform its readers that Fatima was accused in a blasphemy case. Such reporting that family is not accepting the dead body is orchestrated by a network that operates against these victims in collusion with FIA officials and jail authorities. Same thing was reported after the latest killing of Dr. Shahnawaz Kumbhar in Umerkot, Sindh and which was proved false later on when the family of the victim came on record. At the time of Fatima’s death, no crime had been proven against her. Samaa News described her death as occurring under ‘mysterious circumstances,’ noting that Jinnah Hospital could not determine the cause of death. This ‘finding’ by the Jinnah Hospital, as reported by Samaa News, was also a charge sheet against Kot Lakhpat Jail authorities but no action was ever taken.

Fact Focus investigations revealed that the family was shocked by this false reporting by Samaa News. The family was informed of her death very late and had to run from pillar to post in the hospital, facing uncooperative staff. Ultimately, they managed to receive the body of their brave daughter and laid her to rest after the funeral prayers.

Fatima, a daughter of Lahore and a student of Tafseer-e-Quran, was trapped in this situation by FIA officials and members of the blasphemy business group. To this day, no action has been taken against anyone, despite the passage of more than five months.

No one from the Kot Lakhpat Jail administration was willing to speak on the record. Mudassir Shah, the FIA investigation officer for this case, also declined to comment to Fact Focus.

Abdullah Shah

Abdullah Shah went missing on June 9, 2022, prompting his family to file a report at the Shalimar Police Station in Rawalpindi (FIR No. 342/22). It was later discovered that Abdullah had been entrapped and abducted by a blasphemy business group which operates in connivance with FIA cyber crimes wing officials using a girl as bait. He was subsequently accused of blasphemy under FIR No. 73/2022 and the complainant was Rao Abdul Raheem, the head of the blasphemy business group.

Abdullah was taken to a location in G8, managed by Rao Abdul Raheem and FIA cyber crimes wing, where he was subjected to violent torture to extract a confession. This brutal treatment eventually led to his death.

Punjab Police special branch report (sec 2a) calls out involvement of blasphemy business group head Rao Abdul Raheem in kidnapping-cum murder of Abdullah Shah resident of PS Shalimar Islamabad in 2022 which later ended in a ‘compromise’. This raises a pertinent and very serious question; What kind of compromise was achieved to hush-away the torture and death of a young man and with whom?

According to the friends of the family, following Abdullah’s death, his father was threatened into silence. The FIA, in collaboration with the blasphemy business group, conspired to shift the blame for Abdullah’s death onto his cellmates, further compounding the tragedy. A few days ago, after police killed unarmed Dr. Shahnawaz Kumbhar in Umerkot, Sindh, in cold blood in connivance with the local religious fanatics, his killers attempted to create an impression that Dr Shahnawaz was killed during a a police encounter following resistance.

Syed Ali Husnain Shah

Syed Husnain, a young and ambitious student, was working tirelessly to secure a decent income to support his poor single mother and sister living in Faisalabad. Coming from a low-income family, Husnain had already endured the loss of his father. On April 24, 2024, he was arrested on blasphemy charges (FIR No. 63/24). Arrest took place after he was trapped using a girl Eman who works for the blasphemy business group and the FIA cyber crimes wing. Just 46 days later, on June 9, 2024, Husnain died in prison under mysterious circumstances.

Fact Focus obtained photographs of Husnain’s body during his final rites, which clearly showed severe signs of torture. Initially detained by the FIA for several days, Husnain was later transferred to Adyala Jail. His internal injuries were so severe that he was unable to attend his own court hearings. Despite his deteriorating condition, he was only given painkillers at the prison’s medical facilities.

One night, Husnain’s condition worsened significantly, prompting other prisoners to raise an alarm to attract the attention of the prison staff. According to his fellow inmates, he passed away that night in the prison. However, his body was handed over to a hospital, while the family was misled into believing that their son was still alive but in critical condition. Ali Husnain’s mother was threatened into silence by members of blasphemy business group and all attempts by Fact Focus to approach her for comment were denied.

Muhammad Usman Siddiqui was the complainant in this case and FIR officer was Inspector Ali Awais. FIR shows address of complainant as below: Muhammad Usman Siddiqui S/o Musharraf Hussain Siddiqui, House# DAA 10, Street 6, Mohalla Dhok Ali Akbar Kurri Road, Sadiq Abad, Rawalpindi.

Requests for an official version was not entertained by Adyala Jail authorities.

Sohan Khan

Sohan Khan, son of Shah Jahan, was arrested on May 15, 2023, under FIR No. 13/2023. Tragically, he passed away in Malir Central Prison on June 1, 2023, just two weeks after his arrest due to severe torture. According to fellow prisoners, Sohan was brutally sodomized with wooden sticks, leaving him in a critical condition.

Despite numerous requests from civil society members, Malir Prison and the FIA have not released his postmortem report. The case against Sohan was so weak that the judge granted bail to the remaining accused in the same FIR after his death. The judge noted that the investigation record was vague, questioning the circumstances of the accused’s apprehension and arrest, particularly as the arrest preceded the filing of the FIR. It was also noted that the accused’s phone had frequently changed hands, and the seizure memo failed to clarify whether the phone had been sealed properly. The case is being handled by Shahbaz Khan, Deputy Director of the FIA Karachi.

Complete Court Order in the case in which Sohan Khan was arrested. (A pdf file will be downloaded)

The complainant, Muhammad Ali Siddique, works with Hafiz Ihtesham Ahmad, who is associated with Lal Masjid and is involved in “expanding” the activities of the blasphemy group in Karachi. Currently, there are 55 victims of this blasphemy business group in Karachi. FIR shows the address of the complainant as: Muhammad Ali Siddiqui S/o Ikhlaque Ahmad Siddiqui, House Near Hafiz Sweets, Malir-15, Karachi.

Fact Focus request for a detailed version about the circumstances that led to the killing of Sohan Khan was not entertained by Malir Central Prison superintendent.

Safir Ullah

Safir Ullah, son of Muhammad Khan from Lakki Marwat, tragically died in Lahore Camp Jail on December 31, 2023, at the age of 22 (FIR No. 53/2023). According to family friends, Safir was diabetic and suffered from hypertension, conditions that made him particularly vulnerable to the torture he endured in custody.

As his health deteriorated, he was taken to a public hospital, but a ventilator was not immediately available. Despite his critical condition, the prison authorities did not grant him access to a private hospital. Safir ultimately passed away due to the combined effects of torture and inadequate medical facilities.

His case was handled by FIA Deputy Director Muhammad Iqbal, with Muhammad Nouman Yousaf and Abdul Majeed Nadeem as the complainant. The addresses of complainants are: Muhammad Nouman Youssaf, Daak Khana Kaanhna, NoDhalo Kay Tehsim Lahore. Abdul Majeed Nadeem S/o Muhammad Sardar, Sakna Chak No 66EB District Pakpattan.

Exposé of Abuses by the Blasphemy Business Group:

With the patronage of the FIA’s Cyber Crimes Wing, House No. 455, Street 75, G-8/1 in Islamabad serves as a hub for the criminal activities of the blasphemy business group. Victims, who are lured and abducted through various trapping methods described in previous reports, are brought to this location. Key members of the group, including Rao Abdul Rahim, Shiraz Farooqi, and others, are present when victims arrive. At this site, they confiscate the victims’ phones, delete any incriminating messages sent by the girl characters used to trap the victims, and subject the victims to severe torture in an effort to extract confessions.

This represents a gross miscarriage of justice and a severe violation of fundamental human rights. It also breaches “The Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Act 2022.” Victims are subjected to brutal treatment, including being beaten while naked, receiving electric shocks to their genital areas, and having sticks forced into their mouths and genital areas.

Once a victim confesses to the alleged “crime,” they are transferred to FIA detention centers, where an FIR is already filed against them – their fate is predetermined by the torture they have endured and tampering of the evidence.

Advancement in Technology & exploitation of blasphemy laws – A Disaster in making

Global technological advancements have reached unprecedented levels. Deep Fake videos can now be created to impersonate anyone. In February 2024, CNN Asia reported a $25 million financial fraud in which a finance worker at a multinational company was deceived by fraudsters using deepfake technology instructing her to transfer a significant amount of money. The fraudsters impersonated the company’s CFO and other senior executives in a video call, with all participants being deepfake recreations. These deep fakes were created using publicly available images of those executives.

Due to these technological advancements and limited / outdated data and device review capabilities at FIA, can justice truly be served to those accused of blasphemy? This concern is heightened by the fact that blasphemy laws are tied to death penalty and often misused to settle personal disputes, exact political revenge, gain financially, or assert power, much like the actions of the blasphemy business group.

Blasphemy laws in Pakistan became aggressive during Zia-ul-haq dictatorship and later death penalty was added. In the 1990s, blasphemy cases were few and involved accusations like burning pages of Quran or conducting verbal ‘blasphemy’. Today with the evolution of technology, these dynamics have changed as “blasphemy” has taken a digital form.

When someone is accused of blasphemy using a device like a cell phone, a thorough forensic analysis is needed to establish the crime. It is crucial to determine if the device was not tampered with, by malicious actors like members of blasphemy business group and FIA officials. This currently is not the case. FIA has very limited forensic capabilities and mostly conducts a technical analysis of the device without establishing who was the original sender or what was the location of device at time when the content was received / created. Simply put, anyone’s device can be snatched, and blasphemous content added by criminals, and FIA may not be able to identify the real culprit.

In very rare cases, judges reviewing such cases highlighted these flaws in the investigation process during court proceedings and asked FIA to get an independent analysis although digital capabilities to conduct such analysis in Pakistan are very limited. In the context of writ petition 341/2022, Justice Babar Sattar of the Islamabad High Court ordered an independent investigation by the Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) into the device of the victim. This investigation is intended to address allegations of torture and tampering with the victim’s device.

This is a disaster in making as deep fake blasphemous videos can be created to settle personal, political vendettas or blackmailing for financial gains. This is even more dangerous due to the mob justice / vigilante mindset that prevails in Pakistani society with respect to blasphemy.

There are some sophisticated tools available in Global market to detect deepfakes and AI generated content which includes Deepware Scanner, TruePic, and Sensity and even if there is an intent to upgrade the forensic review process, these tools will require time to be implemented.

Until then, fate of the victims of blasphemy business group hangs by a thread and the future of blasphemy accusation can become a national security issue if not handled with a sense of urgency by the Parliament۔

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