|
|
by IANS |
Islamabad, Dec 12 (IANS) A new prime-time drama in Pakistan - 'Case No 9' - has dared to tackle the unspoken by highlighting the weaponisation of blasphemy accusations against religious minorities in the country.
The show has introduced a subplot which features a character named Rohit, a Hindu, who is the business partner of a powerful businessman named Kamran who has been accused of rape.
Rohit, a report in Bitter Winter - an online magazine on religious liberty and human rights - states is an individual belonging to the community that comprises just two per cent of Pakistan’s population and are often considered second-class citizens.
The report mentions that in Pakistan's television landscape, often dominated by melodrama and sanitized morality, 'Case No. 9' has emerged as a rare beast with its Episode 11 gripping audiences with its central storyline of Seher's courageous legal battle against her rapist Kamran taking an even bolder turn.
"It introduces a subplot so politically and socially volatile that it is rarely touched on screen: the weaponization of blasphemy accusations against religious minorities in Pakistan. At the heart of this subplot is Rohit, Kamran’s business partner and a Hindu — a member of a community that makes up two per cent of Pakistan’s population and is often treated as second-class citizens. Rohit is portrayed as a man of integrity, someone who knows Kamran is guilty of raping Seher, yet protects his partner," the Bitter Winter report stated.
The reason is revealed in a haunting flashback as years ago, as a university student, Rohit was falsely accused of blasphemy and Kamran, then a fellow student, saved him from a mob gathered to kill him.
"In Pakistan, this is not fiction — it's history. False accusations of blasphemy have led to lynchings, imprisonments, and entire communities living in fear. The law, which carries the death penalty for defiling the name of the Prophet Muhammad or Islam, has often been misused to settle personal scores or target minorities. According to human rights organizations, dozens of people have been killed extrajudicially after being accused, and hundreds more languish in prison awaiting trial. By dramatizing this reality, 'Case No. 9' does something extraordinary: it puts the viewer inside the moral labyrinth that such a system creates," the report details.
Pakistan has been widely regarded as a country with a deeply stained record of bigotry, repression, and systemic mistreatment of its minorities.
India has repeatedly highlighted Pakistan institutionalising persecution of Hindu, Christian and Ahmadiyya minority communities with impunity in the name of religion - something which continues unabated.
On December 2, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) urged the Donald 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.
Beyond the legal penalties attached to blasphemy charges, USCIRF highlighted the profound social consequences of a system where allegations are often wielded as weapons. It 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. Those measures include releasing individuals imprisoned for blasphemy, curbing abuses linked to vigilante groups, and ultimately repealing the country’s blasphemy laws.
Latest News
