Qindeel Azeem

While the government moves ahead with plans to ban the terrorist organization Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), FactFocus has found that not only do most members of the infamous “Blasphemy Business Group” (BBG) belong to TLP, but the party’s chief, Saad Rizvi, has repeatedly intervened to protect and assist BBG’s extremist operatives.

BBG is a gang headquartered in the federal capital, Islamabad, with an extensive network across several cities. It has entrapped hundreds of citizens— including more than 400 young boys and girls— in fabricated blasphemy cases, leaving them to languish in jail. Although the BBG receives support from various extremist elements in Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and elsewhere, the footprints of TLP are clearly visible at every level of the blasphemy business network.

How Tehreek-e-Labbaik (TLP) controlling Blasphemy Business Group (BBG) and its narrative

The Blasphemy Business Group has operated under the patronage of Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan, with several key members of BBG also holding active roles within TLP. Rao Abdul Rahim’s so-called organization “Legal Commission on Blasphemy” (known in general public as Blasphemy Business Group (BBG), often seen working closely with the TLP as its legal team. On multiple platforms, BBG members are seen promoting “Sar tan se juda” activism, a hallmark of TLP’s extremist ideology.

A striking example of this collaboration occurred when Justice Ejaz Ishaq decided to broadcast the court proceedings on the formation of an independent commission to investigate BBG’s activities live to the nation, citing transparency and fairness as the purpose. In response, BBG and TLP members organized protests and issued threats outside the courtroom, demonstrating their coordinated efforts to intimidate the judiciary and block the commission.

During the Live court hearings on the formation of an independent commission to investigate the activities of the Blasphemy Business Group, as soon as Rao Abdul Rahim started getting exposed in front of the whole nation, leaders of Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan came to BBG’s rescue. Together, they organized a series of conferences featuring threatening speeches aimed at intimidating Justice Ejaz Ishaq and pressuring Parliament to block the creation of the commission.

Islamabad High Court Judge Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq merely ordered the formation of a commission to ascertain the facts of a situation in which countless similar cases had been registered against hundreds of people, including more than 400 young boys and girls. The complaints in these cases were mostly filed by individuals associated with a well-known extremist group. In almost every case, women linked to this group were found to be involved in entrapping the victims who were later accused of blasphemy. These were merely allegations made under questionable circumstances, and nothing had been proven. The judge’s order to form the commission was not intended to halt the ongoing trials of these blasphemy cases in lower courts, but rather to determine whether there existed any nexus between BBG and officials of the FIA Cyber Crime Wing (now NCCIA).

Here are examples of some recent key events organized by the TLP, during which the party declared all the accused individuals as ‘blasphemers’ and openly announced their intent to kill them, along with the Islamabad High Court judge who had ordered the formation of a commission to ascertain the facts.

In a recent crucially important public meeting of TLP, its chief Saad Rizvi told the Islamabad High Court judge Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq, “You are talking about forming a commission. We will talk about the Kalashnikov. Make commissions—do whatever you want. If someone criticizes a chief minister, he is picked up and forced to apologize. Who will deal with the ‘blasphemers’? If we intervene, you will call us violent. Yes, we admit we will be violent in defense of the respect of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). You may call us terrorists a million times. Yes, we are terrorists when it comes to the respect of the Prophet. If defending the Prophet’s respect is a crime, we will commit that crime a hundred times.

In the same TLP public meeting Saad Rizvi went on threatening Pakistan’s parliament and Islamabad High Court judge by saying, “Either someone is part of Pakistan’s parliament or a judge of the Islamabad High Court, I want to tell that ‘one-and-a-half-foot’ person (reference to Justice Ishaq) that you are mistaken and you wrongly believe that you will be able to save the blasphemers (he himself considering the accused persons facing charges of blasphemy after entrapment as actual blasphemers). We know this blasphemy law is weak; in fact, we have Umar’s law (Meaning kill anybody facing charges of blasphemy without following the process of law). We commend our lawyers who boldly faced your shamelessness, but remember: we need lawyers only to appear in your court; we do not need any lawyers for Umar’s court. Do remember that for that we need the SMG (Small Machine Gun) of Mumtaz Qadri (notorious killer) and the dagger of Ghazi Ilmuddin. You are nothing; your family is nothing; not one country — even if we have to destroy the whole world for the respect of our Prophet, we will not hesitate for a moment.”

Similarly, in another major TLP public meeting, the outfit’s senior leader Naeem Chatha threatens in these words, “A judge has ordered the formation of a commission. The TLP’s official stance will be given by the TLP chief. But let me tell you: it can’t be possible that a judge, sitting on a two-foot chair, paves the way for the release of 400 blasphemers (he himself considering the accused persons facing charges of blasphemy after entrapment as actual blasphemers) while we continue to sit idle. Imam Malick had said that either we should take revenge for the disrespect of the Holy Prophet or we should all die. If these blasphemers come out of jail, we will slaughter as many of them as we possibly can.”

An another important TLP public meeting, “Allama” Farooq Hassan, a top leader of the terrorist outfits stated, “Now, as a justice of the Islamabad High Court moves ahead to support the blasphemers (he himself considering the accused persons facing charges of blasphemy after entrapment as actual blasphemers), we want to tell him: O moron justice, you forgot the right of the Prophet after sitting on your two-foot chair; you have stooped to bootlicking Europe. Please keep one thing in your mind: if, at the behest of the Jews and Christians, you’ve developed the courage to stand with the blasphemers, even today the TLP people—the followers of the Prophet across Pakistan—are ready to become Mumtaz Qadri.”

Here by becoming “Mumtaz Qadri”, the terrorist outfit leader is implying to kill the judge and those accused of blasphemy. Mumtaz Qadri is a notorious killer who while working as a personal guard to the former governor Punjab Salman Taseer assassinated him in 2011 in Islamabad. The killer Qadri also assumed that Salman Taseer was a blasphemer only because Salman supported a christian woman Asia Bibi falsely accused of blasphemy.

In an event organized by BBG’s accomplices in the FIA Cyber Crimes Wing (now NCCIA) and attended by TLP’s top leadership, including its chief Saad Rizvi, FIA officials threatened lawyers, telling them not to represent those charged with blasphemy. FIA official (now AD in NCCIA) Sarfraz Chaudhary paid homage to TLP founder Khadim Rizvi and to his son, Saad Rizvi, who was presiding over the conference.

The Closeness of BBG’s Top Brass with TLP

Rao Abdul Rahim

Advocate Rao Abdul Rahim, the mastermind behind the Blasphemy Business Group, works very closely with the TLP. Rao, along with some other members of this family, remained associated with another terrorist organization in the past but he himself is not a member of the TLP.  He is frequently seen attending TLP conferences and is known for delivering emotionally charged speeches that incite violence.

In an event hosted by the TLP, Rao Abdul Rahim said Pakistan was freed for two reasons—Khatm‑e‑Nabuwwat and Namoos‑e‑Risalat—and that after a long struggle legislation was enacted to punish blasphemers. When a certain lobby in Parliament tried to amend that law, we took to the streets of Islamabad, Rao said, adding that lovers of the Prophet (PBUH) will stand against such conspiracies.

Rao is often seen with top terrorists of the TLP like shown in the following picture. 

This is how Rao differentiate between those appearing in the courtroom with laptops and those with turbans.

Shiraz Farooqi 

Shiraz Ahmad Farooqi, another key member of the Blasphemy Business Group, is a staunch supporter of TLP as is evident from his activities and numerous daily-based social media posts. He frequently promotes the party’s agenda on social media and, in recent days, amid a Punjab police crackdown on TLP’s violent protests, has been posting messages to incite violence and and issuing threats to the politicians. Punjab Police Special Branch Report which was released by Fact Focus in July 2024, named Farooqi as head of the BBG.

Shiraz Farooqi also frequently meets with TLPs leaders and activists.

BBG leader Shiraz Farooqi and activits Ghazanfar Ali and Usman Siddiqui in conversation with TLP activists Danish Bakhtiar and Muqeet Manan.

Usman Siddique and Shahzad Khan

Usman Siddique and Shahzad Khan are prominent members of the Blasphemy Business Group and active Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan activists. Usman and Shahzad are complainants in several blasphemy cases filed against young citizens on the behalf of BBG. FactFocus first exposed Shahzad Khan’s activities in July 2024, revealing his involvement in conducting illegal “arrests” of individuals accused of blasphemy. Both Usman and Shahzad are complainants in multiple dubious blasphemy cases, further highlighting their role in exploiting the law for the group’s agenda.

Both individuals are involved in illegal abductions and torture, and they also manage the social media pages of the so-called Legal Commission on Blasphemy. On these platforms, they openly identify as members of Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan and issue threatening messages, including extreme statements such as “sar tan se juda.”

Usman Siddique is a long standing member of TLP and BBG, his social media posts celebrate TLP leadership

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