KARACHI: A Pakistani court has declared a senior police officer and three others fugitives in the killing of a doctor accused of blasphemy, according to a court order shared with the victim’s lawyer this week, the latest development in a case seen as a rare instance of police facing prosecution over such allegations.

Dr. Shahnawaz Kunbhar, accused of posting blasphemous content online, was arrested in Karachi in September 2024 and killed days later in Mirpurkhas. Police initially said the killing was unintentional, claiming he was shot during an exchange of fire when officers tried to stop two men on a motorcycle. Authorities later admitted they only realized afterwards that the dead man was Kunbhar, who had been facing a blasphemy case. The incident sparked mass protests in the southern Sindh province and widespread outrage on social media.

A provincial government inquiry later concluded that Kunbhar had in fact been killed in a staged encounter. Ten officers, including Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Javed Soonharo Jiskan, were suspended, and 34 suspects were charged — a rare move in Pakistan where people accused of blasphemy are often targeted by mobs and police seldom face accountability.

During hearings, FIA officials also recorded statements from five members of the medical board that exhumed Kunbhar’s body. One of them, Professor Dr. Waheed, confirmed evidence of torture, including five broken ribs.

An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Mirpurkhas, Sindh province, had in December ordered the arrest of six police officers over what the government inquiry described as a fake encounter. Those named included DIG Javed Soonharo Jiskani, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Muhammad Asad Ali Chaudhry, and four others: Lakhmir Khan, Muhammad Siddique, Abdul Sattar, and Allah Jurio.

“The said four accused viz. Javed Soonharo Jiskani, Lakhmir Khan, Muhammad Siddique and Abdul Sattar are hereby declared proclaimed offenders,” Judge Abdul Ghani Soomro wrote in a July 29 order, which was shared with the victim’s counsel on Wednesday.

“The court declared these officers proclaimed offenders at the last hearing, and I hope that on the coming hearing accused Ex-SSP Mirpurkhas Muhammad Asad Ali Chaudhry will also be declared a proclaimed offender,” Aijaz Halepoto, the victim’s advocate, told Arab News.

The judge said no serious efforts had been made to arrest Chaudhry, issuing fresh non-bailable warrants for his detention and directing the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to enforce them. He noted that while FIA officials had tried to track the four already declared offenders, “there is no prospect of their arrest in near future” as they were actively concealing themselves.

Blasphemy is a highly sensitive issue in Pakistan, where insulting the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) carries a mandatory death sentence. Although no one has yet been executed by the state for blasphemy, accusations — often based on little or no evidence — have triggered violent mob attacks and lynchings.

While vigilante killings are common, extra-judicial executions by police are far less frequent. Legal action against officers accused of such killings is even rarer, making the Kunbhar case highly unusual.

Human rights groups have repeatedly called on Pakistan to repeal or reform its blasphemy laws, saying they are often misused to settle personal scores and fuel discrimination and violence. They have also urged authorities to improve police handling of blasphemy allegations to prevent further abuses.