Tag: pakistan

Pakistan: Professor Sentenced to Death Following Blasphemy Charges

Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are among the world’s most egregious tools of religious repression. They enable abuse, mob violence, and the targeting of individuals and religious minorities (including Christians) for criminal prosecutions that carry life sentences and death penalties.

Pakistani professor Junaid Hafeez, for instance, is imprisoned and sentenced to death for alleged blasphemy. 

In 2013, police in Punjab Province arrested Hafeez, who was then an academic in his twenties. The professor has remained incarcerated ever since.

In 2019, a court sentenced Hafeez to death under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws following a trial whose delays spanned several years. The trial finally took place inside a high-security prison amid fears of mob violence. Hafeez’s appeal has yet to be heard.

According to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), 

In March 2013, authorities arrested Hafeez, a lecturer at Bahauddin Zakariya University, after his students accused him of blaspheming Islam on social media. In 2014, authorities placed him in solitary confinement after other prisoners repeatedly attacked him. That same year, two gunmen shot to death Hafeez’s lawyer, Rashin Rehman, in his office.

In December 2019, a district and sessions court in Multan sentenced Hafeez to death for “insulting the Prophet Muhammad” (Sec. 295-C PPC). He was also sentenced to life in prison for “desecrating the Qur’an” (Sec. 295-B PPC) and 10 years’ imprisonment for “intending to outrage religious feelings” (Sec. 295-A PPC). United Nations experts swiftly condemned Hafeez’s sentence.

Prior to his arrest, Hafeez received a master’s degree in the United States on a Fulbright Scholarship. He specialized in American literature, photography, and theatre.

On February 26, Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a statement about Hafeez’s case. In it, HRW said:

“Junaid Hafeez’s case is emblematic of the unjust and abusive nature of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The authorities should quash Hafeez’s conviction and safely release him and others held under the blasphemy laws.”

The blasphemy laws, section 295-C, and other provisions of Pakistan’s penal code carry what is effectively a mandatory death sentence. Although there have been no executions, several people are currently on death row, while dozens are serving life sentences for related offenses. Hundreds have been charged under the law in the past three decades.

On February 27, the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ) submitted an official contribution to the U.N. Special Rapporteur regarding summary, extrajudicial, or arbitrary executions in Pakistan. In it, the ECLJ denounces the mandatory and automatic imposition of the death penalty for blasphemy against Islam in the country:

Those accused of blasphemy in Pakistan are sentenced to death by hanging. The death penalty, let alone by hanging, is egregious and disproportionate in blasphemy cases. It clearly amounts to torture. Notably, the Pakistani government has never carried out the death sentence in blasphemy cases. However, the accused spend years on death row. Additionally, many accused, their families, and communities have faced mob violence…

The authorities have also failed to stop mob attacks by private actors, such as fundamentalist individuals and organizations in blasphemy cases. In many cases, mobs gather and attack the accused, their families, and their communities. Where the accused are arrested and tried, fundamentalist organizations continue to pack the courtrooms to intimidate judges. As a result, trial courts rarely acquit the accused, leaving their fate up to the higher courts.

Even an accusation of blasphemy can provoke mob violence against victims, as well as their families and the wider Christian community. On Aug. 16, 2023, allegations of blasphemy against two Christian residents in Jaranwala (Faisalabad district of Punjab Province) led to a Muslim mob vandalizing and destroying over 20 churches and more than 80 Christian houses.

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White House ‘signed off’ on Pakistan’s declaration that Iran ceasefire included Lebanon: Report

The White House was directly involved in “shaping” the ceasefire announcement by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, having reviewed and approved it before publication, according to a New York Times (NYT) report on 8 April.

The report says Washington saw and signed off on the statement in advance, indicating that the announcement was not an independent diplomatic move but part of coordinated communication. 

US President Donald Trump had issued an 8:00 pm deadline on Tuesday for Iran to surrender, saying that he would erase an entire civilization if Tehran did not agree to his terms for a deal.

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” the president wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.

The NYT report notes that, behind the scenes, US officials were actively seeking a way out as the deadline approached, even as US President Donald Trump was threatening Iran with annihilation if it did not open the Strait of Hormuz.

It asserts that diplomatic channels were far more active than the public messaging indicated, with the ceasefire appeal reflecting a managed effort rather than a spontaneous initiative.

Sharif’s post itself had appeared earlier with the header “Draft – Pakistan’s PM Message on X,” fueling speculation that the text had been provided externally before publication. It called for extending the deadline by two weeks, reopening the Strait of Hormuz as a “goodwill gesture,” and implementing a temporary ceasefire across all fronts. 

Iran’s 10-point plan includes US non-aggression, sanctions removal, compensation, troop withdrawal, uranium enrichment, and Iranian control of Hormuz, alongside a halt to fighting across all fronts, directly naming Lebanon. 

The Pakistani premier’s statement on X explicitly stated that “the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America, along with their allies, have agreed to an immediate ceasefire everywhere, including Lebanon and elsewhere, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY.”

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Thousands of Christian Families Are Facing Eviction in This Muslim Country

There are currently 25,000 Christians in Islamabad, Pakistan, who are suddenly being asked to leave their homes by the nation’s Islamic authorities.

Christian families living in the capital city were told that they must leave within the next few days, per a report from International Christian Concern.

These families were resettled in Islamabad after the Rimsha Masih case in 2013, during which Masih, then a 14-year-old girl, was arrested on blasphemy charges.

Authorities claimed that she desecrated pages from the Quran.

Two weeks later, the Muslim cleric who reported her to the police was arrested for allegedly planting the pages in her bag, and she was eventually acquitted.

International Christian Concern noted that because Masih was a Christian, the case created “serious threats against the Christian community.”

Many families were moved to the communities in Islamabad “so they could live without fear,” and have built new lives there over more than a decade.

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Pakistan says talks imminent: Trump’s vice president to meet Iranian officials as Israel fears concessions

A Pakistani source said Tuesday that U.S. Vice President JD Vance, along with envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, are expected to meet Iranian officials in Islamabad as early as this week, according to Reuters.

The source said the summit would follow a call between President Donald Trump and Pakistan’s army chief, Gen. Asim Munir.

Earlier, the Financial Times reported that Pakistan is seeking to position itself as a central mediator to help end the war. Pakistani officials have also passed messages between Tehran and both Witkoff and Kushner, the newspaper said.

The report noted that Pakistan — which does not host U.S. military bases — is one of the few U.S. allies in the region that was not targeted by Iran during the war. Three sources told the Financial Times that this helped Islamabad present itself as a neutral intermediary between the sides.

Israeli concerns over US stance

Israeli officials are increasingly concerned that Trump may not insist on Washington’s stated red lines in talks with Iran and could accept any outcome that allows him to declare victory.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke earlier Tuesday with Vance and was briefed on the contacts between Washington and Tehran. The U.S. message to Israel, according to Israeli officials, is that Washington intends to uphold red lines largely aligned with Israel’s: removal of enriched uranium from Iran, halting its nuclear program, restoring intrusive inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency, limiting Iran’s ballistic missile program — with a U.S. demand for a five-year freeze — and ending support for militant groups.

Trump is also insisting on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and having a role in overseeing it.

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Afghanistan accuses Pakistan of killing 400 in hospital strike

Afghanistan has accused Pakistan of conducting an airstrike on a drug rehabilitation facility in Kabul, which Taliban officials say killed at least 400 people.

Pakistan has been striking alleged terrorist camps in Afghanistan since February, accusing the Taliban government of supporting attacks on Pakistani soil. The Taliban has denied any involvement in the string of terrorist attacks in Pakistan.

Taliban government spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said the strike on Monday evening destroyed large sections of the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital.

“Unfortunately, the death toll has so far reached 400, while around 250 others have been reported injured,” Fitrat wrote on X.

Afghan media published a video showing a building engulfed in flames.

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The War Nobody’s Watching: Pakistan’s Three-Front Conflict

On Feb. 22, 2026, a Pakistani airstrike hit the village of Girdi Kas in eastern Afghanistan. As one family lost 18 of its 23 members, Pakistan termed it a targeted counterterrorism operation against militant hideouts. Afghanistan, in contrast, said the strikes hit civilian homes and a religious school. The United Nations confirmed credible reports of civilian casualties, including women and children.

Five days later, Pakistan’s defense minister declared “open war” as Pakistani warplanes struck Kabul, Kandahar, and targets at the former American air base at Bagram, though the Taliban denied significant damage. Afghanistan retaliated with drone strikes and cross-border offensives. Both sides claimed to have killed hundreds.

“They have a great prime minister, a great general,” Trump declared, that same day. “Pakistan is doing terrifically well.”

The State Department backed Pakistan’s “right to defend itself against attacks from the Taliban, a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group.” Three days later, the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran, and the Pakistan-Afghanistan war vanished from the news.

Yet Pakistan is now fighting on three fronts.

To the northwest, an open war with Afghanistan. To the southwest, an escalating insurgency across the province of Balochistan, where separatist militants launched coordinated attacks across a dozen cities in January, killing nearly 200 people. To the east, an unresolved military standoff with India following their brief war last May – the heaviest engagement between the two nuclear powers since 1971.

Meanwhile, the United States is entangled on every side: backing Pakistan’s military against the Taliban while partnered strategically with the India that hosts the Taliban, that Pakistan accuses of fueling the Baloch insurgency, and that just went to war with Pakistan last year. Yet the U.S. is too busy bombing Iran to notice.

Pakistan shares a 1,600-mile border with Afghanistan to the northwest – a contested colonial-era line that splits the Pashtun population and that no Afghan government has ever recognized. Its southwestern province of Balochistan, the country’s largest and poorest, borders both Afghanistan and Iran and sits atop vast reserves of coal, gold, copper, and gas. To the east lies India, with the disputed territory of Kashmir the eternal sore point between them.

Three borders. Three conflicts.

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Bloody Scene Unfolds as Security Forces Fire on Armed Militants as They Try to Storm US Consulate in Pakistan

Benghazi 2.0 averted.

As TGP reported earlier, nearly two dozen militants were killed as they tried to storm the US Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, on Sunday.

The militants tried to storm the consulate after the US and Israel killed Iran’s Supreme Leader and 40 other senior Iranian Regime officials.

Security forces fired on hundreds of militants as they set fires and tried to breach the consulate.

A bloody scene unfolded as the Shiite Muslims in Pakistan scattered amid gunfire.

Graphic video posted to social media shows several bloodied militants running for their lives as (US Marines?) unloaded on them.

The Pakistani militants shouted for help as they carried dead bodies away from the barrier of the consulate.

Fox News reported:

At least nine people are dead and more than two dozen injured after violent clashes outside the U.S. Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan.

Hundreds of protesters stormed the diplomatic compound in a sharp escalation of anti-American demonstrations.

The unrest followed reports that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in a joint U.S.-Israeli strike, sparking anger among Shiite Muslims in Pakistan.

Witnesses told The Associated Press that many of the protesters were Shiite Muslims who expressed outrage over Khamenei’s reported death and alleged U.S. involvement. Protesters chanted anti-American and anti-Israel slogans, and attempted to breach the consulate’s perimeter.

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“Open War” Breaks Out Between Afghanistan and Pakistan

Pakistan has declared it is in “open war” with Afghanistan’s Taliban government following a gradual escalation of tensions and cross-border clashes along the disputed Durand Line. Under Operation Ghazab lil-Haq (“Righteous Fury”), Pakistan launched airstrikes in response to what it called “unprovoked firing” from across the border.

Pakistani forces targeted at least 22 locations, including Kabul, Kandahar, Paktia, Nangarhar, Khost, and Paktika, saying they struck Taliban headquarters, ammunition depots, logistics bases, and other key military installations. Explosions were reported in Kabul.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Afghan forces had launched “large-scale offensive operations” against Pakistani military positions in response to earlier Pakistani airstrikes. Afghan officials said they attacked Pakistani border troops in retaliation and claimed their drones successfully hit military targets inside Pakistan, though Islamabad said any drones were intercepted by anti-drone systems without damage.

Casualty figures are sharply disputed. Pakistan’s military spokesperson, Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, said at least 274 Taliban fighters were killed and more than 400 injured since the operation began, while 12 Pakistani soldiers were killed and 27 wounded. Pakistan’s information minister gave a lower Taliban death toll of 133 and said two Pakistani soldiers were killed.

Afghanistan’s Taliban government claims 55 Pakistani soldiers were killed, eight Taliban fighters died, and 11 were injured. Kabul also said 13 civilians were wounded in a reported Pakistani strike on a refugee camp in Nangarhar and claimed to have captured Pakistani soldiers, which Islamabad denies.

Pakistan’s defense minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said Islamabad had exhausted diplomatic options and would now take “decisive action,” blaming the Taliban for instability and terrorism. Asif accused the Taliban of turning Afghanistan into an Indian “colony,” exporting terrorism, and aligning with India, framing the conflict as a response to security threats and India’s growing ties with Kabul.

Mujahid said Afghanistan wants the fighting resolved through dialogue but warned it would respond to further Pakistani actions. Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Afghanistan would defend itself and urged Pakistan to change its policies and pursue good neighborly relations.

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Pakistanis Who Have Never Been to US Are Voting in California Elections from Inside Pakistan

San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Captain says voting records show people outside of the country, in Pakistan, are allowed to vote in the California elections.

The Sheriff’s  Captain revealed this during a press conference in September 2025.

Sheriff’s Captain: “The way the voting system is structured, we see quite a few flaws. You’re able to register and cast a vote if you don’t live in the country as evidence of his brother in Pakistan.

I think we have some evidence of two or three other people out of the country that are voted? Is that correct? Yeah, approximately two or three other people out of the country, as well as people residing outside of the district.

The online voter registration system, it seems to be an honor system. Anybody can put information in there to register to vote. All you have to do is click a box and say that you’re not lying, and then you’ll get an email from the Secretary of State or something in the mail saying, Thank you for registering to vote. And there you are. Once you’re on the voter rolls, anytime an election comes around, guess what? You get mailed a ballot, right? You get mailed something to vote. So we found that a little bit problematic.

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Pakistan Blocks Major VPNs Under New Licensing Rules, Expanding State Control Over Internet Access

Over the past two weeks, internet users in Pakistan have watched their encrypted connections vanish one after another. Beginning December 22, 2025, major VPNs, including Proton VPN, NordVPN, ExpressVPN, Surfshark, Mullvad, Cloudflare WARP, and Psiphon have been systematically blocked across the country, according to Daily Pakistan.

The blackout follows a government licensing framework that, on paper, regulates VPN providers but in practice gives the state the power to decide which privacy tools are permitted.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) began enforcing its Class Value Added Services (CVAS-Data) licensing rules in November 2025, nearly a year after quietly introducing the policy.

Under these regulations, companies that want to operate legally must install “Legal Interception” compliant hardware and hand it over “to nationally authorized security organizations” at their own expense whenever instructed.

Any VPN not listed as licensed is automatically subject to blocking by domestic internet providers.

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