Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) urged the Trump Administration to work with Pakistan to amend or repeal its blasphemy law, warning that the statute remains a central driver of mob attacks, wrongful imprisonment, and escalating threats against Christians, Ahmadiyya Muslims, and other religious minorities. The renewed call followed Pakistan’s recent ban on the Tehreek-eLabbaik Pakistan (TLP), a hardline group known for mobilising violent crowds in the name of defending blasphemy provisions.
The USCIRF said the TLP has “incited violent mobs to intimidate and attack religious minorities, even calling for the death penalty as punishment for violating blasphemy laws.” The commission noted that these actions have long endangered Pakistan’s non-Muslim communities and Ahmadis, who remain legally restricted from identifying as Muslims in the country. The USCIRF said Pakistani citizens have used blasphemy accusations “to settle inter-personal disputes,” frequently triggering “extrajudicial killings and mob violence disproportionately impacting religious minorities.”
The commission urged Washington to consider a binding agreement with Islamabad under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) to encourage specific corrective steps including releasing individuals imprisoned for blasphemy, curbing abuses linked to vigilante groups, and ultimately repealing the country’s blasphemy laws. The USCIRF’s 2025 Annual Report recommended that the US State Department redesignate Pakistan as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for “systematic, ongoing, and egregious” religious-freedom violations.
