Recent attacks against Christians and Hindus in Pakistan underscore the critical and immediate need for international intervention. On September 17, the sacred Rama Pir Temple of the Hindu community in Sindh province was vandalized. Ten unidentified assailants barged into the temple and fired indiscriminately at the men, women and children, injuring several of them.
In August 2023, more than two dozen Christian churches were burnt down in a city called Jaranwala in Faisalabad district, Punjab. Many homes and shops belonging to Christian families were looted and destroyed by rioters, some of whom were members of the far-right group Tehreek-e-Labbaik. Unproven allegations of blasphemy triggered the attacks.
These are not isolated incidents. Rather, they point to systemic religious persecution and violence targeted at Pakistani minorities. Minorities live in constant apprehension of being targeted, attacked or killed because of their religious identity. In the socio-economic sphere, minorities live on the margins. Urgent attention and reform are required to oppose the entrenched legal, political, and societal structures in Pakistan that continue to marginalize and target these minority groups.
The Plight of Religious Minorities in Pakistan
Pakistan has a total population of approximately 251.9 million people of which 97% are Muslims. The minorities include approximately 3.8 million Hindus, 3.3 million Christians, and 500,000 Ahmadi Muslims, according to the 2017 census. In overall proportion, Hindus and Christians comprise just 1.6% each and Ahmadi Muslims just 0.2% of the population. These minorities are far too minuscule to pose any challenge to the Muslim majority. Nevertheless, they face relentless discrimination, violence, and persecution. Reports of forced conversions, attacks on places of worship, and social ostracism continue to emerge from the country.
The lack of legal protection and effective state action exacerbates the vulnerability of minorities, leaving them marginalized and oppressed. In June, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khwaja Asif admitted that the country had failed to protect its minorities and that they continue to face targeted violence in the name of religion.
The Hindu community in Pakistan has faced numerous attacks over the years. The first two months of 2023 saw at least 42 cases of atrocities against Hindus, including abduction, gang rape, forced conversion, and mob lynching. In December 2020, a century-old sacred Hindu shrine, the Sri Param Hansji Maharaj Samadhi temple, was destroyed by a mob attack in Karak. In August 2021, another mob vandalized a Hindu temple in Bhong, Punjab province, shouting slogans and desecrating idols. In May 2021, Hindu homes were set on fire in villages in the country’s Sindh province. In one village, a Hindu woman was sexually assaulted and her family attacked.
Christians in Pakistan have perhaps faced the worst persecution. In March 2016, at least 72 people were killed and more than 300 injured when a suicide bomb ripped through a crowded park in Lahore where Christians were celebrating Easter Sunday. Earlier in 2013, at least 83 people were killed in a twin suicide bombing at All Saints Church in Peshawar, marking one of the deadliest attacks on Christians in Pakistan. The same year, hundreds of protesters set ablaze more than 200 houses belonging to Christians in Joseph Colony after a member of the colony was accused of blasphemy.
Extremist Islamist groups are among the key players behind organized violence against minorities. In 2021 Al Jazeera reported that far-right Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) was a major player behind the spike in attacks against the Ahmadis. TLP has in the past organized mass rallies and protests in which their supporters raised slogans calling for “blasphemers” to be put to death. To Islamists, Ahmadis are considered “blasphemers.”
In 2017, the group held a three-week protest sit-in blocking a main highway in Islamabad over a minor change in an electoral oath that the group believed loosened restrictions against Ahmadis. The Salafi Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) – the local Islamic State branch — has orchestrated several horrific incidents of organized violence, including bombings targeted at religious minorities and the Shia community. The state has been weak and inconsistent in curbing the activities of such groups. The tacit approval or silence from political leaders further encourages religious intolerance.
The lack of political will explains the country’s dismal record in prosecuting and bringing the culprits of religious violence to justice. Take the case of the Jaranwala attack: a year after the carnage, more than 90% of the suspects remain at large, while the trials of those arrested have yet to start. This lack of accountability perpetuates a climate of impunity, leaving victims without justice and emboldening perpetrators to continue their acts of violence.
The Impact of Blasphemy Laws
Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are one of the most egregious examples of institutionalized persecution. These laws are excessively harsh and blatantly majoritarian. They prescribe a mandatory death sentence for the offence of insulting Prophet Muhammad, and jail terms for Ahmadis who “pose as a Muslim”. They are inherently incompatible with minimum international human rights standards. According to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Pakistan is a signatory, everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, as well as freedom of expression.
Blasphemy laws, however, restrict these freedoms by criminalizing any speech or action perceived as offensive to religious sentiments. No wonder then that they are often abused to settle personal scores or incite mob violence against minorities. Minorities live in constant fear of being accused of blasphemy, stifling freedom of expression, the right to religion, and life and liberty.
Since 1990, close to 100 people have been murdered in the name of the blasphemy laws, according to an Al Jazeera tally. Those killed include people accused of blasphemy, their family members, their lawyers and judges who have delivered “not guilty” verdicts. The United Nations Human Rights Committee has repeatedly called for the repeal or reform of blasphemy laws. But the government has failed to amend, let alone repeal them.
Discriminatory laws against Ahmadis
Ahmadis, who number 500,000 in a country with a population of 240 million, face unique legal and social exclusion. They are not allowed to practice their faith freely, display Islamic symbols, or even identify as Muslims. Discrimination against Ahmadis is enshrined in law. In 1974, Pakistan’s National Assembly passed a constitutional amendment declaring Ahmadis as non-Muslims.
A decade later, President Zia ul-Haq issued an ordinance, which amended the Pakistan Penal Code to criminalize Ahmadis’ religious practices. This ordinance prohibits Ahmadis from calling themselves Muslims, referring to their places of worship as mosques, or publicly performing Islamic rituals. As a result, Ahmadis face harassment, violence, and targeted attacks by extremist groups. The state’s refusal to amend these laws allows systemic persecution to continue unchallenged.
In July 2021, Naeemuddin Khattak, a 57-year-old professor of Zoology who taught at a college on the outskirts of Peshawar, was shot dead because of his religious beliefs. The incident occurred after months of targeted hate speech. More recently, in June 2024, Amnesty International (2024) documented 36 cases of arbitrary arrests and detention of Ahmadis, along with attacks on their places of worship, which were often incited through social media campaigns.
Political, economic and social marginalization
Besides religious violence, minorities also face economic and social marginalization. They have to mostly contend with menial jobs and are excluded from leading positions in government, academia, judiciary, and other positions of authority, influence, or power. They also face significant barriers to accessing education, government and private employment, and government welfare services. In rural areas, land grabs from minority communities are common, with little protection or legal recourse.
Another crucial area of concern is the political representation of minorities, who are vastly underrepresented in the country’s legislative bodies. Seats reserved for minorities are often symbolic, with little political power or influence. This absence of meaningful representation means that the voices of marginalized communities go unheard in key decision-making processes, further entrenching their isolation from mainstream society.
The Path Forward
Pakistan has faced some international censure for its treatment of minorities. The U.S. Department of State has been flagging Pakistan’s human rights abuses in its annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has, in its reports, recommended designating Pakistan as a “Country of Particular Concern” due to severe violations of religious freedom. The United Nations Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process has also called on Pakistan to improve its human rights record, including protecting religious minorities and repealing blasphemy laws. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have also urged the international community to press Pakistan for reforms and accountability. However, these reports have not made much of a difference. Pakistan continues to show a blatant disregard for the protection of minorities. The relentless attacks and repression continue with impunity.
Foreign governments — especially the United States — human rights advocacy groups, and key inter-governmental human rights organizations like the United Nations Human Rights Council and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) need to be more forceful, vocal and proactive in taking up the cause of Pakistan’s minorities. Pressure must be brought upon Pakistan to comply with its international human rights obligations. Both bilateral diplomatic channels and multilateral forums, such as the United Nations, should be leveraged to call for legal reforms and firm executive and judicial action against the groups and individuals involved in the organized targeting of religious minorities.
Pakistan has always been heavily dependent on foreign aid and loans from organizations like the International Monetary Fund. Another effective way to enforce accountability could be to construct foreign aid and bilateral trade agreements with the condition of enacting greater legal protections and formulating socio-economic legislation and programs aimed at uplifting minorities.
Pakistan needs to be told in no uncertain terms that it needs a comprehensive overhaul of its laws and social norms that lie at the root of religious persecution. First, the blasphemy laws, which continue to serve as a legal tool for persecution, need to be repealed, and all pending cases must be dropped. Pakistan also must enact stronger legal protections for minorities, including measures to prevent land grabs, forced conversions, and abduction of women need to be taken.
The government must also carry out mass education and awareness campaigns addressing societal attitudes that fuel prejudice and discrimination. Educational institutions must promote tolerance and respect for all religious and ethnic groups. Pakistan must be made to submit periodic reviews of the progress made on all these fronts.
The global community must make it clear that the continued marginalization and persecution of minorities is unacceptable. It is not only a hindrance to Pakistan’s progress and international standing, the country could also face censure and economic sanctions if religious persecution of its minorities continues. Going forward, Pakistan must be judged by how it treats its most vulnerable populations. Discrimination and violence against minorities need to be brought to an end.
(Ashish Khetan is a lawyer and investigative journalist. He specializes in human rights law, constitutional law, and public international law.)