Islamabad, March 19 (IANS) A Christian man in Pakistan, accused under controversial blasphemy laws of the country, is awaiting a possible death sentence. The case has gained attention as it involves the so-called “blasphemy business group”, an organised network accused of making false blasphemy accusations to trap people for blackmail and extortion, a report has stated. The court has completed hearings related to false blasphemy charges against Christian man Ishtiaq Saleem while proceedings cont…
Latest Federal Investigation Agency News & Updates
Athens, March 13 (IANS) Pakistan’s strategy to silence opposition combines domestic authoritarianism with transnational repression. As the crackdown inside the country intensifies through arrests of journalists, censorship of media, and violent dispersal of protests – the drive to target critics who evade domestic crackdown but remain vocal abroad has also escalated, a report has highlighted. According to a report in the ‘Greek City Times’, Pakistan’s partners in Europe and North America face a …
Islamabad, March 7 (IANS) Pakistan will continue to see disappearances buried in administrative records rather than investigated as crimes unless trafficking is recognised not only as a humanitarian crisis but also as an institutional vulnerability. Such neglect enables organised criminal networks to flourish and undermines the credibility of the authorities, a report said on Saturday. According to the report in Pakistani daily, ‘The Friday Times’, police in Sadiqabad region of Pakistan’s Punj…
Islamabad, Feb 26 (IANS) A leading minority rights group in Pakistan on Thursday expressed grave concern over growing misuse of the country’s blasphemy laws, saying they are increasingly exploited as “tools of fear, control, and profit”. Citing human rights groups, which describe the law as a growing “blasphemy business,” the Voice of Pakistan Minority (VOPM) stated that “fabricated screenshots, doctored images, fake social media accounts, and false witness statements” are used to tr…
Islamabad, Feb 5 (IANS) Child sexual abuse remains rampant in Pakistan, especially in online and physical spaces. Recently, the National Cyber Crimes Investigation Agency of Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) uncovered a major network involved in the sexual exploitation of children through blackmail, a report has revealed. A prime suspect was arrested as part of the operation uncovering more than 600 obscene videos of children. The incident has sparked questions about the proliferatio…
Islamabad, Feb 3 (IANS) Persistent police encounter killings and the lack of transparency, probe or accountability around them in Pakistan’s Punjab province indicates criminality on part of the State, a report has stated. As of early 2025, the Crime Control Department (CCD) of Punjab Police and its political patrons have been following a tried and tested script. Formed through an executive order after Punjab cabinet’s approval last year, the department’s powers and mandate have been made a law t…
Islamabad, Jan 28 (IANS) A rising number of people are being accused of blasphemy for digital crimes in Pakistan with the rights groups terming it as a type of “blasphemy business”, in which fabricated evidence, digitally doctored screenshots, or false witness statements are used to initiate police complaints, a report has detailed. In December, the Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi Bench acquitted six people who had been sentenced to either life imprisonment or death in a digital blasphemy case. T…
Islamabad, Jan 16 (IANS) Syndicates, which have entrapped hundreds of people in blasphemy cases for refusing extortion demands continue to remain active in Pakistan, a recent report has cited. It highlighted that the National Commission for Human Rights in Pakistan has said that more than 450 people, mostly men, have been entrapped over the years, and that 10 of them were Christians with at least five of those arrested dying in custody. “In July, the Islamabad High Court in the national capital …
Islamabad, Dec 26 (IANS) Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Friday announced that it would begin a street movement by welcoming Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi in Lahore and holding a public event at the Liberty Roundabout, local media reported. PTI Punjab chief organiser Aliya Hamza Malik said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will launch a “mass protest movement” as per the instructions given by PTI founder Imran Khan. She asked PTI’s ticket-holders, office-bearers, workers and lawyers in …
Islamabad, Dec 24 (IANS) The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) organised a roundtable meeting in Islamabad on Wednesday, where speakers reiterated the suffocating impact of Pakistan’s Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 and highlighted structural constraints to press freedom in the country. The meeting drew attention to the impact of subsequent amendments to PECA on ordinary citizens and called for a broad civil society coalition to defend freedom of digital expression in Pakistan….