Pakistan’s courts are battling a sinister new frontier in blasphemy prosecutions: accusations built on tampered digital footprints. What was once a grave religious offense has morphed into a lucrative racket, with rights groups decrying manipulated screenshots and sham witnesses ensnaring victims.

December’s Lahore High Court verdict in Rawalpindi freed six people from death row or life terms, slamming the prosecution’s failure to connect dots between suspects and purported online posts. The ruling shone a spotlight on how fabricated digital content is weaponized in laws prescribing capital punishment.

Predominantly hitting impoverished minorities, these cases involve pressure tactics for payoffs to quash FIRs. Section 295-C’s mandatory death penalty fosters impunity—allegations alone spark lynchings or custodial deaths. Over 30 years, 104 extrajudicial killings have been linked to such charges.

Radical outfits affiliated with TLP amplify online campaigns, while FIA lapses allow unexamined social media evidence. Shagufta Kiran’s plight is telling: the illiterate Christian woman was jailed for an inadvertent WhatsApp forward, culminating in a 2024 death sentence. Her family languishes as she fights from death row.

These incidents reveal deep cracks in Pakistan’s justice system, where blasphemy has become shorthand for harassment and greed. Alarming patterns demand immediate safeguards for vulnerable faiths, from Ahmadis to Shias, to prevent further tragedy.