Religious discrimination in Pakistan
[3] People belonging to minority religions are often falsely accused of using derogatory remarks against the Islamic prophet Muhammad, resulting in fines, lengthy prison sentences, and sometimes the death penalty.
Among these, the most recent include 19-year-old Hindu girl Rinkle Kumari from Mirpur Mathelo in Ghotki district, Sindh province who was abducted by a gang and "forced" to convert to Islam, before being head shaved.
By propagating concepts such as jihad, the inferiority of non-Muslims, India's perceived ingrained enmity with Pakistan, etc., the textbook board publications used by all government schools promote an obscurantist mindset.
In the eyes of Pakistani politicians and policymakers, what was perceived as the Mujahideen’s triumph over the Soviets in Afghanistan, could be also replicated in Indian Administered J&K thus the Government of Pakistan supported and aided the terrorist activities.
[47] Furthermore, the ISI agency of Pakistan decided to push aside some educational institutions belonging to moderate political groups and backed more extreme ones affiliated to Islamist proxy forces such as Hizbul Mujahideen, JeM, Harakat-ul-Mujahideen and LeT.
[47] The confession of an arrested member of LeT in 2002 showed that he was politically motivated and religiously justified to pick up weapons and kill the kaffirs (non-believers of Islam) of India during the school assemblies.
[47] Through the course of moral exclusion, which Abu Masood implemented, adolescents are trained to situate the dehumanized targets into the category of "the others", establishing them as potential enemies who deserve to be killed [47] Qari Hussain, a Taliban commander who has been given the name of “Trainer of Suicide Bombers” confirms that radicalization takes place in madrassas and argues that “Children are tools to achieve God's will.
[48] But the hearing before the Subcommittee on National Security & Foreign Affairs in 2007 stated that the President Musharraf has made efforts to "take on the threat of extremism but has not shut down extremist-linked madrassas or terrorist camps.
The report mentions that a federally approved Urdu Textbook teaches grade 10 students that "the Islamic religion, culture and social system are different from non-Muslims; therefore, it is impossible for them to cooperate with Hindus.” [53] The 2019 report on Religious Minorities in Pakistan compiled by Members of the European Parliament found: "The curriculum in Pakistani schools includes compulsory reading of Qu’ ran, the ideology of Pakistan based on the Islam, the Jihad and Shahadat path.
In 2019, Naveed Amir, a Christian member of the National Assembly moved a bill to amend the article 41 and 91 of the Constitution which would allow non-Muslims to become Prime Minister and President of Pakistan.
[76] In August 2012, Rimsha Masih, a Christian girl, reportedly 11 or 14 years old, and an illiterate with mental disabilities was accused of blasphemy for burning pages from a book containing Quranic verses.
When objected by the Indian High Commissioner regarding the obstruction, the first Prime Minister of Pakistan Liaquat Ali Khan remarked that the Dalits and other lower caste of Hindus are required to stay in the city to perform the sanitation activities that were otherwise considered as immoral.
[99] This impunity is partly due to the fact that Pakistan’s democratic institutions, particularly the judiciary and the police, have been weakened by endemic corruption, ineffectiveness, radicalism and a general lack of accountability.
Vishal Anand, founder and chairman of the Hindu Youth Council, stated that “When they saw our CNIC [identity cards], they refused to give the ration bags, saying it’s not for Hindus.”[100] Christians were also barred from receiving any relief aid in Karachi’s Korangi area.
[121] In 2017, after Quaid-i-Azam University's (QAU) Physics Centre was renamed after the first Noble laureate, Professor Dr Abdus Salam, retired Captain Muhammad Safdar, who is a leader of PML-N and the son-in-law of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, objected in the National Assembly on the grounds of his religious identity.
[133] Following the 2010 Lahore massacre, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said "Members of this religious community have faced continuous threats, discrimination and violent attacks in Pakistan.
[138] In September 2018, several Islamist groups in Pakistan publicly opposed the selection of Atif Mian, who is from the Ahmadi community, as a member of the government's Economic Advisory Council.
[150] On 18 October 2005, Sanno Amra and Champa, a Hindu couple residing in the Punjab Colony, Karachi, Sindh returned home to find that their three teenage daughters had disappeared.
[162] In July 2010, about 60 Hindus were attacked by 150 residents in Murad Memon Goth neighbourhood of Karachi and ethnically cleansed following an incident when a Hindu youth drank from a water tap near an Islamic mosque.
[181] In June 2023, the Pakistan Higher Education Commission banned the celebration of the Hindu festival Holi on institute campuses to preserve "Islamic identity" and "sociocultural values" which flared the issue of religious discrimination in the country.
"[186][187] On 3 January 2020, Pakistani media reported that "scores of protesters surrounded the Gurdwara Nankana Sahib, on Friday afternoon, threatening to overrun the holy site if their demands for the release of suspects in an alleged forced conversion case were not met".
[194][195] In 2012, Malik Ishaq, founder of the anti-Shia militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, called Shias the "greatest infidels on earth" and demanded the country to declare them as "non-Muslims on the basis of their beliefs.
The attackers infiltrated and ambushed a coal mine near Mach, Pakistan; after which they "separated those who belonged to an ethnic group called Hazaras, blindfolded them, tied their hands behind their backs and brutally killed them".
[4] Amarnath Motumal, who works for Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, has stated that 20 to 25 Hindu girls were kidnapped and converted every month though the exact number is impossible to estimate.
[216] Sadiq Bhanbhro, Researcher on Public Health and Gender-Based Violence at Sheffield Hallam University commented he found reports of 286 girls forcibly converted from 2012 to 2017 in English-language dailies, though this number is likely higher.
[217] The 2019 Religious Minorities in Pakistan report compiled by Members of the European Parliament has stated that independent NGOs estimate every year at least 1,000 girls are forcibly converted to Islam, although the number may be higher due to under-reporting.
Farid Chand Singh, who filed the complaint, has claimed that Assistant Commissioner Tehsil Tall Yaqoob Khan was allegedly forcing Sikhs to convert to Islam and the residents of Doaba area are being tortured religiously.
[243][244] In recent years, youth and commercial establishments in Pakistan have supported Valentine's Day festivities and celebrating romantic friendship and love, as noted by journalists Asif Shahzad and Andrew Roche and Safia Bano, a philosophy lecturer.
[247][248] This widely reported/publicized event from the platform of a university has caused concern and has disadvantageously affected the country's image,”[247] [248]The official notice further stated that “While there is no denying the fact that cultural, ethnic, and religious diversity leads towards an inclusive and tolerant society, that profoundly respects all faiths and creeds; albeit it needs to be done so in a measured manner without going overboard.
[247][248] After facing backlashes and outcry, the Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission (HEC) withdrew the notice and stated that it is “highly respectful of all religions, faiths, and beliefs, and the associated festivals and celebrations observed in the country”.
