Pakistani cleric honoured by Archbishop linked to blasphemy ‘blackmail’ gang

A Pakistani cleric, Tahir Ashrafi, who has received the Hubert Walter Award from the Archbishop of Canterbury, has been accused of protecting a blasphemy blackmail gang by a Telegraph investigation. Ashrafi, a dual national, previously honored Osama bin Laden and has been linked to his brother, Hassan Muawiya Ashrafi, who is allegedly the leader of the gang.

According to the investigation, the gang abducts, tortures, and blackmails men over blasphemy claims. Ashrafi has defended his brother and called a judge investigating the gang a "dog". Blasphemy carries the death penalty in Pakistan, and the National Commission for Human Rights recorded over 200 blasphemy jailings in 2023. The gang reportedly operates by luring young men through honey traps on social media, then demanding a ransom and, if not paid, threatening or torturing the victim.

Four of the gang's victims have reportedly died from torture, including one case involving alleged rape with a wooden baton. Ashrafi has denied being part of the gang and has called for evidence of the extortion. He is known in the West as a contact for Pakistan's Christian minority and has supported various controversial causes.