Qindeel Azeem

All four young men, who were killed either immediately after being kidnapped or later in custody in various jails due to torture inflicted on them by BBG and FIA CCW (now NCCIA) officials, were entrapped by the honey-trapping queen “Imaan,” a FactFocus investigation has revealed.

These boys were trapped and accused of blasphemy by Pakistan’s Blasphemy Business Group (BBG) through honey trapping in collusion with officials of the Federal Investigation Agency’s Cyber Crime Wing (now NCCIA).

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Jail intake medical records, subsequent medical reports, statements from other inmates, and, in some cases, postmortem findings leave no doubt that these educated youths were subjected to brutal and inhumane torture immediately after their kidnapping by the Blasphemy Gang or the FIA. The statements indicate that, in every case, the abuse was intended to force confessional statements. The evidence further reveals the degrading and inhumane detention conditions faced by young prisoners accused of blasphemy, including confinement in cage-like cells and sustained humiliation.

The Government bears primary responsibility for any custodial torture or custodial deaths. Being a party to the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984), Pakistan enacted the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Act in November 2022. However, the law is not effectively implemented in practice. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), which has exclusive authority to register and investigate cases of custodial torture by the police or other law enforcement agencies, often fails to entertain requests or applications on this matter. Only a few cases have been accepted by the FIA, and that too after strict court orders or the intervention of influential government officials.

Under the law, the FIA has exclusive jurisdiction to investigate custodial torture cases, but investigations are to be conducted under the supervision of the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR). According to Sections 8 and 9 of the Act, torture is punishable under Section 332 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) with up to ten years’ imprisonment, while custodial death is punishable under Section 302 of the PPC with death or life imprisonment.

The main challenge, however, remains that most blasphemy allegations related custodial deaths occur due to torture by FIA officers themselves. How the FIA can independently investigate its own personnel in a system like Pakistan remains a serious and unresolved question.

In recent days, serious allegations of corruption against senior NCCIA officials, including Sarfaraz Ch. and Suleman Awan, have come to light in other cases but these officials already had a history of working closely with BBG members, facilitating systematic blasphemy entrapment, illegal arrests, and the use of severe torture to extort confessions. NCCIA officials were also involved in deaths resulting from torture in custody. Despite this, no action has been taken against any of the officials involved.

Among the four victims, Syed Abdullah Shah of Rawalpindi was entrapped in 2022 and killed immediately as a result of severe torture. According to a detailed police investigation, Rao Abdul Rahim, the head of the Blasphemy Business Group (BBG), was identified as the prime suspect. Sohan Khan of Karachi was similarly entrapped in 2023 and died within fifteen days of his kidnapping after being subjected to horrific torture. Safeer Ullah of Lakki Marwat was also trapped in 2023. He survived for several months in jail but ultimately died due to sustained neglect and the inhuman treatment meted out to him at Camp Jail in Lahore. Syed Ali Husnain of Faisalabad was entrapped in 2024 and was killed within seven weeks as a result of severe and inhumane torture.

A thorough investigation conducted last year by the FactFocus Investigation team in Islamabad identified the honey-trapping queen “Imaan” as Komal Ismail, a resident Of Islamabad originally from Mirpur in Kashmir. Documents and statements show that “Imaan” primarily operated using a Pakistani mobile number, +92 313 6431397. Komal is among the key operatives of the BBG and is known to work closely with BBG head Rao Abdul Rahim and Shiraz Ahmad Farooqi. 

Sohan Khan of Karachi

Sohan Khan was abducted by the Blasphemy Business Group in collaboration with FIA on May 14, 2023, and was subjected to brutal torture to coerce a confession similar to all blasphemy cases. Despite his abduction on May 14, his official arrest was not recorded until May 15, 2023, under FIR No. 13/2023 (complainant Muhammad Ali Siddique). Sohan’s name did not appear in the FIR registered on May 15 and was only added later through supplementary challans (“zimnies”). This sequence of events, his detention on May 14, the registration of the FIR on May 15, and the subsequent inclusion of his name in Zimni not in FIR strongly indicates that FIA officials lacked any evidence against Sohan at the time of his arrest and instead attempted to fabricate a case through torture-induced confessions.

Sohan was held by the FIA Cyber Crime Wing for eight days, during which he was brutally tortured, before being transferred to Malir Central Prison on May 22, 2023.

FactFocus contacted the concerned official of Malir central Jail and after checking the official records he confirmed that there were clear bruises and signs of torture on Sohan’s body as per the medical and physical exam at the time of admission into prison, an SOP that is followed for all new prisoners. Superintendent at Malir central jail said that any citizen can check this official record after taking permission from inspector general prisons Sindh.

Sohan, based in Karachi, was in a long-distance “relationship” with Iman (Komal Ismail) for six months through WhatsApp conversations. She had been urging him to meet her in Islamabad, but he was hesitant to travel. Komal then agreed to visit Karachi and meet him at Hyper Star Mall on May 14, 2023. A close friend of Sohan Khan shared Sohan’s final voice note to him telling him about Komal’s visit to Karachi and his plans to meet her. “She (Imaan / Komal Ismail) in order to meet me, made an excuse to visit her brother who is based in Karachi. Her brother lives in Bahria Town and I had a video call with her for 15-20 min”

Sohan arranged a meeting with Komal and arrived at the mall accompanied by his friend. Sohan’s friend dropped him at the entrance, while he searched for parking. From the parking lot he saw Sohan suddenly running, pursued, and ultimately captured by men in plain clothes seeking help from mall security personnel.

Investigation conducted by an agency revealed that Sohan had been in contact with Imaan (Komal Ismail). Imaan was using a phone number registered under the name Khurshid Mai of Muzaffargarh, Punjab. Her name was used and documents were forged to obtain this mobile number. Despite repeated reporting by FactFocus about this specific fraud and forgery, no government authority has initiated any action.

Additional documentation which includes voice notes exchanged between Imaan (Komal Ismail) and Sohan confirm their close relationship.  

Sohan’s family members told FactFocus that they were not allowed to meet Sohan after his abduction or arrange a lawyer for him. He was held in an office in Gulistan-e-Johar, where the family was invited to meet him by phone call of an individual who identified himself as an FIA CCW officer. Upon arriving at the location, the family was made to wait for six hours and was ultimately not permitted to see Sohan. A couple of days later, Sohan was brought home in an unmarked grey car like a criminal, his face was covered and he was accompanied by FIA officer Wazir Bhutto. On that day FIA officials confiscated Sohan’s devices. Sohan’s brother insisted on seeing Sohan’s face, so the FIA officer removed the face cover to reveal the brutally tortured face. Sohan pleaded with his family that he was innocent and was framed. Once again FIA officers told Sohan’s family that they could visit him in the Gulistan-e-Johar office, but when they went to that location Sohan was nowhere to be found. The family waited the whole day, in the morning they were told that Sohan was taken to the court and in the evening, they were told that Sohan had been taken to Islamabad. 

Sohan was handed over to prison authorities on May 22nd, 2023, and passed away on 1st June 2023, only within 8 days as a result of the severe torture inflicted by members of the Blasphemy Business Group and FIA Cyber Crime officials (NCCIA). According to fellow inmates and case mates Wahid and Hammad, Sohan had been brutally tortured, subjected to electric shocks, and sodomized with wooden sticks, leaving him with serious internal injuries. In his final days at Malir Central Jail, he was critically ill, unable to eat or retain food, showing clear signs of extreme physical trauma. 

After Sohan’s passing, while his body was being brought home for final rituals, members of the blasphemy business group were reaching out to the neighbours with a clear intent of creating a difficult situation for the family through inciting violence so they do not pursue the murder case as a result of fear and intimidation  As a result, neighbours distanced themselves from the family and eventually, no one was willing to conduct the final rites. Blasphemy business group and FIA CCW (NCCIA) officials succeeded in ensuring that murder case of Sohan Khan is not investigated and culprits punished.

FactFocus contacted Wazir Bhutto of the NCCIA for his statement, as he was named by other young men in similar cases, as well as by Sohan’s friends, as the officer leading the torture operation.

He was asked a straightforward question: why he, along with others, tortured Sohan Khan. His response was equally blunt. “Sohan Khan was a blasphemer. Why are you supporting blasphemers? Why are you not raising your voice for the Palestinians?”

Rather than denying the torture which led to Sohan Khan’s death, Wazir Bhutto was strikingly candid. At one point, he told FactFocus that Sohan Khan had died of a heart attack. However, the jail authorities and Sohan’s family tell a different story.

When FactFocus specifically asked Wazir Bhutto how it fell within the NCCIA’s mandate to determine who is a blasphemer, he abruptly ended the conversation and began deleting messages from his side of the WhatsApp exchange. FactFocus has preserved records of this communication, as Wazir Bhutto was formally approached and provided what he presented as his official version.

Deputy Director NCCIA Ayaz Mehr was also approached for comment. He aggressively declined to respond and displayed a hostile attitude toward questions concerning matters of public interest and human rights.

FactFocus remained in contact with Sohan Khan’s family; however, they remain deeply traumatized and fearful. Even now, they are unwilling to come forward publicly unless government authorities provide concrete assurances of justice and protection.

Safeer Ullah of Lakki Marwat 

Safeer Ullah of Lakki Marwat was accused of blasphemy and tragically died in Lahore Camp Jail on December 31, 2023, at the age of 22 (FIR No. 53/2023 and complainant Nauman Yousaf). According to family friends, Safeer was diabetic, which made him particularly vulnerable to the torture he endured and the severe living conditions in Camp Jail.

Blasphemy-Related Entrapment or De Facto Death Sentence

Prisoners accused of blasphemy in Pakistan wait many years in prison for their trials to be completed even if they are not guilty. Due to the sensitive nature of the allegations, they are kept separate from the other prisoners to prevent religiously motivated attacks. As a result of overcrowding and lack of facilities, such prisoners are frequently confined in extremely small, isolated spaces, comparable to cages, further worsening their physical and mental health.

Safeer told his friends that he was in contact with a girl named “Imaan” and that she was planning to visit him in Lakki Marwat. Shortly thereafter, Safeer went missing. He later informed his family that Imaan had asked him to meet her and was waiting for him in a white Cultus. When Safeer approached the vehicle, he was abducted by a bearded man and a local cleric, forcibly taken into the car, and transported to Lahore.

A white Suzuki Cultus owned by Rao Abdul Rahim has been used in multiple kidnappings, some of which resulted in the victims being killed either immediately after their abduction or within days. This pattern of abduction was clearly established through CCTV footage of the kidnapping of Umar Liaqat in Layyah, previously released by FactFocus. The footage showed white Suzuki Cultus registered in the name of Rao Abdul Rahim, driven by Imaan (Komal) and accompanied by a top blasphemy gang leader Shiraz Farooqi.

FactFocus interviewed Safeer’s cellmates, who stated that he suffered from a very high fever for four consecutive days while in Lahore Camp Jail. Despite prison authorities being aware of his diabetic medical history, no medical treatment was provided during this period.

Prisoners in Camp Jail are permitted a 20-minute phone call to their families every week. During one such call, Safeer’s cellmates contacted his family to inform them of his deteriorating condition. When his condition became critical, Safeer was eventually transferred to Services Hospital, Lahore. However, no bed was immediately available despite the severity of his condition. Safeer passed away approximately four to five hours after reaching the hospital.

FactFocus approached the Superintendent of Camp Jail Lahore, Zaheer Virk, to seek clarification regarding the death of Safeer Ullah. The response provided was largely superficial, focusing on general procedures and standards of prisoner care purportedly followed at Camp Jail Lahore. The response failed to address the central concern: how a previously healthy 22-year-old man with a manageable diabetic condition deteriorated to the point of death from Diabetic Ketoacidosis while in state custody. No official documentation was provided to FactFocus.

Safeer belonged to a lower-middle-class family and was the sole breadwinner for his elderly parents, as his brother was mentally unstable and was unable to work. At the time of his death, Safeer was only 22 years old. He is survived by a young son, who was an infant at the time and is now five years old. The orphaned child currently lives with Safeer’s elderly parents as Safeer’s wife remarried following his death.

Syed Ali Husnain of Faisalabad

Syed Husnain was from a middle-class family, On April 24, 2024, he was arrested on blasphemy charges (FIR No. 63/24, complainant Muhammad Usman Siddique) through trapping by Imaan (Komal Ismail), statements of his friends and call records also confirm his communication with Komal. 

Husnain was picked up on 24 April 2024 from Faisalabad in a White Cultus and was brought to a torture cell in Rawalpindi. He was subjected to severe torture by members of the Blasphemy Business Group (BBG) and FIA CCW along with other victims of the blasphemy business group. On 27th April 2024, Husnain was transferred to the Adiala jail in critical physical condition.

According to a close family friend who was assisting Husnain’s mother during this period, the internal injuries he sustained in the torture cell were so severe that he was unable to stand and missed his own court hearings. Despite his rapidly deteriorating health, Adiala jail medical staff provided only painkillers, with no meaningful medical treatment or further investigation.

Ali Husnain, a prisoner in a blasphemy case, was denied proper medical care despite his deteriorating condition. He was not taken to a hospital until it was too late, and he died.

On 9 June 2024, Husnain’s condition deteriorated significantly. At night, fellow prisoners raised an alarm to draw the attention of prison staff. According to other inmates, Husnain passed away that same night inside the prison. However, his family was misled into believing that he was still alive but in critical condition and was being transferred by Adiala Jail authorities to DHQ Hospital.

FactFocus has obtained the postmortem report of Syed Ali Husnain, conducted after his death. Despite having spent seven weeks in Adiala Jail, his body still bore clear signs of torture, as documented in the postmortem findings, including bruising in the groin area

The medical staff who conducted the examination recommended that biological specimens be sent to the Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA), Lahore, for further analysis to determine the extent of internal injuries. However, the current waiting period for PFSA to issue conclusive forensic reports in such cases is approximately two to three years.

Following Ali Husnain’s death, Adiala Jail staff conducted an internal review that was carried out in bad faith and was misleading. Adiala Jail officials attempted to minimize the circumstances of his death by attributing it to an alleged “history of urinary retention,” while completely ignoring the extensive injuries and bruising to his groin and other parts of his body. These injuries were clearly documented in the forensic report and were also visibly present on Husnain’s body during his final rites.

Moreover, Ali Husnain had no prior history of any such medical condition before his arrest. These complications arose only after the brutal torture he endured at the hands of members of the Blasphemy Business Group and FIA CCW officials. FactFocus reached out to Superintendent of Adiala Jail Ijaz Asghar who refused to give any statement on this case. 

Videos and photographs of Husnain’s body taken during his final rites clearly revealed extensive signs of severe and inhumane torture across his body. These materials are not being made public due to ethical and professional considerations. Initially detained by the BBG and FIA for several days, Husnain was later transferred to Adiala Jail. 

Ali Husnain was the only son and primary caretaker of his elderly mother and younger sister, who reside in Faisalabad. His father had passed away earlier. Following her son’s death, Ali Husnain’s mother has refused to speak with FactFocus, having been threatened into silence.

When FactFocus contacted Mian Farooq Nazir, Inspector General of Prisons, Punjab, and asked about the SOPs followed at the time of a prisoner’s admission to jail, he stated that the first step upon a prisoner’s arrival is a medical examination. However, when specifically asked about prisoners facing blasphemy charges, he declined to comment further and said that someone should contact him to arrange a meeting at his office.

Syed Abdullah Shah of Rawalpindi

FactFocus did extensive reporting on the murder of Abdullah Shah. A CCTV footage which is the part of the police investigation shows that Abdullah was picked up from F-10 Markaz Islamabad by a girl in white Suzuki Cultus car. Abdullah was in a phone relationship with a girl “Imaan”. Abdullah’s friends also saw him leaving with a girl. Abdullah went missing and his father registered a murder case once his body was found. Police investigation revealed Rao Abdul Rahim (Head of BBG) as a prime suspect in his murder case following the call records and location of Abdullah and Rao Abdul Rahim. Later on, deputy director Mudassir Shah of NCCIA jumped to the rescue of Rao and threatened Abdullah’s father of blasphemy case against him and his other children and coerced him into giving a testimony to police that he did not suspect Rao as the killer of his son, allowing Head of BBG to walk free.

During the Live hearings for the formation of an independent commission to investigate the activities of BBG in connivance with NCCIA in the court of Justice Ejaz Ishaq Khan, Advocate Hadi Ali Chattha argued the case of Abdullah Shah, Police Inspector Munir (investigator of the case) also gave testimony. An order dated 19th June 2025 was issued by the judge to MIT to give an update on Abdullah Shah’s murder case (FIR no: 342/2022) and Prosecutor General Islamabad was also instructed to depute one of his Deputy Prosecutors to appear in court and provide an update.

In its July 3, 2025 order, the Islamabad High Court directed the Islamabad Police and the FIA to conduct inquiries to ascertain how Abdullah Shah’s father’s name was included in a blasphemy case originally registered against Abdullah before his death, and how the name of Advocate Rao Abdul Raheem was excluded from the murder case of Abdullah Shah, despite technical and digital evidence establishing his involvement beyond any doubt.

On July 15, Sardar Ejaz Ishaq directed the formation of an independent commission to investigate the circumstances under which hundreds of blasphemy cases were registered within a short span of time, mostly by members of a blasphemy group, as well as any possible connivance of the NCCIA (formerly the FIA Cyber Crimes Wing).

On July 24, 2025, upon a petition filed by Rao Abdul Rahim, a division bench of the Islamabad High Court suspended Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq’s July 15 order regarding the establishment of the commission.

Also on July 24, 2025, Komal Ismail appeared publicly for the first time. She appeared as a petitioner in IHC. In her petition, she not only challenged Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq’s order to form the commission—declaring it contrary to Islamic Sharia—but also separately requested the suspension of the July 3, 2025 order. The July 3 order had first issued certain directions concerning Komal Ismail and then directed the police and the FIA to conduct an inquiry into why Rao Abdul Rahim had been removed from the investigation of the Abdullah Shah murder case despite the existence of evidence, and to submit a report to the court within four weeks.

Instead of personally appearing to challenge the July 3, 2025 order directing a police and FIA inquiry against him, Rao Abdul Rahim ultimately brought forward “Iman,” namely Komal Ismail, and through her sought the suspension of the July 3 order. Since that same order also contained directions concerning Komal, if the court had suspended the July 3 order, the directives against Rao Abdul Rahim would have automatically been suspended as well. This was a cunning legal move by Rao Abdul Rahim. However, the specific request to suspend the July 3 order was rejected by the court on July 29, 2025.

However, such is the influence of the Blasphemy Gang that, by leveraging connections in high government circles, an impression was conveyed not only to Islamabad Police but also to the Federal Investigation Agency that the July 24 division bench decision had not merely suspended the formation of the commission, but had effectively suspended all orders of the Islamabad High Court. It was suggested that, as a result, under the July 3, 2025 decision, the ongoing inquiries by Islamabad Police and the FIA against Rao Abdul Rahim and Deputy Director Mudassar Shah could no longer continue. Moreover, the Islamabad High Court’s July 29, 2025 order—by which this specific request had already been rejected—was concealed.

The law officer of the Islamabad High Court informed that the July 3, 2025, order was communicated to both the Islamabad Police and the FIA, and both were required to submit a report within four weeks. However, no report has been submitted so far, despite seven months having passed.

FactFocus repeatedly contacted the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the Islamabad Police seeking updates on the Syed Abdullah Shah murder case, particularly in relation to the order issued by the Islamabad High Court (Order No. 39, dated 3 July 2025), which directed the submission of an inquiry report within four weeks.

FIA spokesperson Abdul Ghafoor was asked why the court-ordered inquiry report had not been submitted. He responded that the matter “relates to the National Cyber Crimes Investigation Agency (NCCIA),”. effectively shifting responsibility despite the fact that the NCCIA itself was a party to the case and that the High Court’s order was explicitly directed to the Director General of the FIA.

FactFocus also contacted Mr. Jawad, spokesperson for Islamabad Police, regarding the same issue. He referred FactFocus to Sharifullah Khan, spokesperson for the Operations Division. Sharifullah Khan stated that he had the case record and requested clarification of the specific query. When informed that the inquiry report had not been submitted within the court-mandated time frame, he said he would respond after gathering further information. Despite repeated follow-up attempts, no response was subsequently provided.

Senior advocate Usman Warraich told FactFocus that the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) July 3, 2025, order remains in force and is not suspended by the division bench (DB) of IHC, in its July 24, 2025 ruling. He said, July 03, 2025 order mandates the Islamabad Police and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to conduct inquiry and submit reports within four weeks. “If they have failed to submit these reports, they are in violation of the IHC’s order”.

Editorial Note:

The team at FactFocus recognizes that Komal plays a significant and proactive role in the operations of this network targeting young individuals. However, it is equally important to acknowledge the influence her handlers exert over the system, particularly in a patriarchal and traditionally structured society like Pakistan. FactFocus will continue its investigation into the circumstances of her involvement and remain committed to factual, transparent reporting in the days ahead.

We urge the state to take immediate and effective action to identify all women involved in blasphemy-related honey-trapping operations and to ensure the safety and protection of women exploited by schemes orchestrated by the members of Blasphemy Business Group (BBG). Urgent measures are needed to safeguard these women and those who are being trapped to death by them and their handlers.

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