Pakistan’s inclusion on the US Commission on International Religious Freedom’s (USCIRF) blacklist (once again) recycles a tired script. Western institutions scold Islamabad for religious persecution while sparing allies like India. This year’s report, in a rare admission, nods to India’s RAW stoking sectarian tensions here. Still, Washington’s outrage remains fixed on Pakistan.
There’s no point in sweeping our own misgivings under the rug. Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are not just flawed. They’re a judicial death trap. This week, a Rawalpindi court sentenced five men to death for “blasphemous content online;” a case spearheaded by a private vigilante group. The verdict reveals a system where accusation equals guilt. One Afghan and four Pakistanis now face execution, casualties of a war waged by self-appointed morality police. No surprises here. In 2021, a Sri Lankan factory manager was lynched by a mob over blasphemy rumors, while in 2023, a Muslim cleric accused a rival of blasphemy to seize his mosque. The pattern is clear: blasphemy laws have long become tools of oppression.
India’s hypocrisy under Modi is staggering: bulldozed Muslim homes, lynched minorities, and state-sanctioned impunity. But two wrongs do not make a right. Pakistan’s moral high ground dissolves when its courts legitimize mob justice. Emboldened by a sense of impunity, private groups weaponize blasphemy laws to settle scores or silence dissent. Unproven allegations spark mob violence (remember the heart-wrenching Sargodha attack), yet the state responds not with reform but with death sentences.
The USCIRF’s acknowledgement of RAW’s meddling should prompt accountability. Instead, it’s drowned out by demands to punish Pakistan alone. No probes into cross-border sabotage. No pressure on Delhi. Just the plain, old double standard: scrutiny for adversaries, impunity for allies. The US prioritises alliances over principles, shielding India as a counterweight to China while scapegoating Pakistan.
Western narratives paint Pakistan as uniquely oppressive while excusing Israel’s desecration of Palestinian sites. Hypocrisy fuels this calculus. But Islamabad cannot deflect criticism by crying “foreign interference.”
Reforms should not be mistaken as surrender to Western pressure. When vigilantes dictate verdicts, the state becomes an accomplice. Until Pakistan criminalises false accusations and prosecutes mob violence instead of rewarding it with judicial validation, it will remain shackled to global condemnation and domestic terror.
Religious extremism isn’t ours alone, but until we reject biased lecturing and take a good look in the mirror, we’ll stay pawns in a rigged game. *