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The Minorities in Pakistan constitute about 3.5% -4% of total Pakistani population according to the official estimates of Pakistan,[1] albeit according to the claims of other non-governmental organizations and human rights organizations that number might be between 6 - 8%. Christians and Hindus together constitute more than 90% of Pakistan's religious minorities.[2] A US government-appointed advisory committee, The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom in a report in 2013 asserted that risks to minorities in Pakistan have reached a crisis level. It claimed in a report in April 2013, "The government of Pakistan continues to engage in and tolerate systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of freedom of religion or belief."[3][4] It designated Pakistan as a “country of particular concern” while suggesting sanctions on failure to improve. Report also stated, “The government continues to fail to protect Christians, Ahmadis, and Hindus. Pakistan's repressive blasphemy laws and anti-Ahmadi laws are widely used to violate religious freedoms and foster a climate of impunity.”[4][5] The discrimination against religious minorities like Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Jews is believed to be ongoing and enforced in various ways ranging from Educational opportunities to Political and legal rights.[4] The financial condition of most of the minorities are weak; most people belonging to minorities are segregated and appointed only in low-level works.[6]

The minorities are facing intolerance and are threatened.[7][3][8][9][10] Condition of minorities deteriorated sharply in 2012, while the government remained unwilling or unable to provide protection to the country's minorities.[11] A pattern of growing scot-free lawlessness threatens to destroy the minority communities.[12] The blasphemy laws affect a whole range of non-Muslim communities as well as marginalised Islamic sects. Forced conversion of Hindus,[13][14] killings of Ahmadis,[15] massacre of people belonging to Shias and Hazaras are ongoing.[16][17][18]

In 2011 Human Rights Watch described Pakistan as "disastrous" for religious minorities and claimed that they faced ‘unprecedented insecurity and persecution’. Intolerance and persecution of religious minorities are ubiquitous in Pakistan.[19] The Human Rights Watch’s Pakistan Director Ali Dayan Hassan asserted that “Pakistan’s human rights crisis worsened markedly in 2012 with religious minorities bearing the brunt of killings and repression,”[11] and he also stated that in Punjab, the Government there has spent most of its term in office in denial of the threats to minorities,[20] albeit Punjab province of Pakistan is reported to be a haven to a slew of terrorist organizations from Kashmir-centric militant groups, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi or the "ideological patrons of Taliban".[20] Reports have claimed that the government was either "unable or unwilling" to terminate the connection between Pakistani military intelligence agencies and extremist groups. Some of the Sunni militant groups have known links to the Pakistani military and its intelligence agencies. Affiliated paramilitaries like the `banned’ Lashkar-e-Jhangvi operates openly across Pakistan.[21]

In February 2013 Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper highlighted the persecution of minorities in Pakistan as well as China. He said, ″In Pakistan, Ahmadiyya Muslims, Shiites Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, and Hindus are vulnerable to persecution and violence″.[22]

Demography

[edit]

1998 Census

[edit]

According to the most recent (1998) census conducted by the Government of Pakistan, Hindus make up 1.20% of the population and Christians (Protestant and Roman Catholic) 1.9%, or around 2.3 million people. Other estimates put the numbers higher. Historically, there was also a small contingent of Jews in Pakistan most of whom left in the 1960s, and now their numbers are estimated to be between 1000-5000 predominantly in the city of Karachi.[23]

Religious Freedom Report 2002

[edit]

The U.S. State Department's International Religious Freedom Report 2002 [24] estimates the Shi'a population between 10-12%, among which around 900,000 are Ismailis which is a sect of Shi'i Muslims and who pay tribute to their living spiritual leader, the Aga Khan. It also lists Christians at 2.09 million; Ahmadis at 286,000, Hindus at 1.03 million; Parsis, Buddhists, and Sikhs at 20,000 each; and Baha'is at 50,000-100,000.

Women

[edit]

Women from minority communities threatened by repressive laws as well as religious hatred by Muslim extremists. Most Hindu and Christian women in urban areas are working as scavengers or sanitation workers. Labor laws are not invoked for their protection and in Badin, Mirpukhas, Sanghar, Umer Kot and Tharparker districts, Hindu women are considered to be slaves due to religious hatred.[25] Women from minority religions also face legal discrimination in the sense that, according to Pakistani laws, a non Muslim woman's testimony has only 1/4th the weight of testimony from a Muslim male.[26]

Afghans

[edit]
Afghans who were repatriated are arriving to Afghanistan in 2004.
Main article: Afghans in Pakistan

There was a huge influx of Afghan refugees into Pakistan in the 1980s.[27] This is said to have contributed to the rise of conservative kalashnikov culture, terrorism, sectarian violence, religious fundamentalism, drug trafficking, illegal cross-border smuggling, environmental issues, organised crime, and other socio-economic law and order problems in the country.[28][29][30][31]

Since early 2002, more than 5 million Afghans have been repatriated through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) from both Pakistan and Iran back to their native country, Afghanistan.[32] According to a 2005 report Census of Afghans in Pakistan by the Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (Government of Pakistan), the ethnic breakdown of Afghans in Pakistan was as follows: Pashtuns (81.5%), Tajiks (7.3%), Uzbeks (2.3%), Hazara (1.3%), Turkmen (2.0%), Balochi (1.7%) and others (3.9%).[33]

From 2005 to late 2006, the Government of Pakistan began and completed a registration process of all the registered Afghans living in the country. The total number of registered Afghans was reported at 2.15 million in February 2007. They were all issued computerized "proof of registration" (PoR) cards with special biometric features, similar to the Pakistani National Identity Card (NIC) but has "Afghan Citizen" on the front.[34][35] Some portion of Pakistani populace hold Afghans responsible for the rampancy of anti-Pakistan militant groups inside Pakistani territory.[36]

Ahmadi

[edit]
Further information: Persecution of Ahmadis in Pakistan
See also: May 2010 attacks on Ahmadi mosques in Lahore

Pakistan has around 2-5 million Ahmadis[37][38] There have been numerous attacks on Ahmadi community in Pakistan.[38][39] From Lahore riots of 1953[40][41][42] to stoning of two members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in the town of Shab Qadar, in the North-West Frontier Province in April 1995[43] to attack on Ahmadi mosque in Mandi Bahauddin in 2005.[44]

Anti-Ahmadiyya riot of 1974 is the biggest communal riot against Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Pakistan. Ahmadiyya Mosques were destroyed

In the administration of Zia-ul-Haq, the government amended the Section 295-C through 'Criminal Law Act of 1986'.[45][46]

While Ahmadis consider themselves to be Muslims,[47] they are prohibited by law from self-identifying as Muslims, and their freedom of religion has been curtailed by a series of ordinances, acts and constitutional amendments.[48] A law was passed namely Ordinance XX by Zia-ul-Haq which effectively prohibited Ahmadis from Identifying themselves as Muslims.[49] These laws prevent the Ahmadis from calling themselves or even behaving as Muslims. They are not allowed to preach their faith and use Islamic terms for their places of worship and religious rituals.[50] In applying for a passport or a National Identity Card, all Pakistanis are required to sign an oath declaring Mirza Ghulam Ahmad to be an impostor prophet and all Ahmadis to be non-Muslims.[51][52]

As a result, persecution and hate-related incidents are constantly reported from different parts of the country, and Ahmadis have been the target of many attacks led by various religious groups.[53] Madrasahs of all sects of Islam in Pakistan prescribe reading materials for their students specifically targeted at refuting Ahmadiyya beliefs.[54]

Ahmadis have also been the targets of terrorism. In May 2010, 93 Ahmadis were killed by Sunni Islamic groups at two of the Ahmadi's mosques.[55][41][15] According to a Policeman the suicide bombers detonated themselves at a later stage, after observing that that they were about to be caught by the police, thereby increasing the death toll.[15]

In the same study, the teachers in these elite schools showed an even lower amount of tolerance towards Ahmadis than their pupils.[56]

Shia

[edit]
Main article: Sectarian violence in Pakistan
Further information: Persecution of Hazara people in Quetta

Shia Muslims make up at least 10-15% of the total population in Pakistan[3] and come from different ethnic backgrounds. The radicals view Shia Muslims as apostates.[3] The Hazara ethnic minority has been facing discrimination in the province for a long time, nevertheless, bloody violence perpetrated against the community has risen very sharply in recent years.[57][58][59] Hazara people in Quetta, have lost nearly 800 community members.[60] Most of them have fallen victim to terrorist attacks by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan which is a Sunni Muslim militant organization affiliated with Al-Qaeda and Taliban.[61] The repression against the Shi'ite Muslims worsened in Pakistan after September 11 attacks,[62] albeit it began in 1998 with the assassination of Gen Musa Khan's son Hassan Musa in Karachi.[63]

A person holding a placard against the killings of Hazara people in Quetta city of Pakistan.

Since the year 2000, over 2000 Shia Hazara community members including children have been killed or wounded in attacks perpetrated by Sunni Muslim terrorists affiliated with Al-Qaeda and Taliban in southwestern town of Quetta.[64] In 2011 General Secretary of Hazara Mughal Solidarity Forum Pakistan claimed more than 600 Hazara people have been killed in Quetta.[65] Militant Outfits have claimed to make Quetta "a graveyard for the Shia Hazaras".[63] Many hundreds of Shia Muslims have been killed in northern areas of Pakistan such as Gilgit, Baltistan, Parachinar and Chelas. The violence worsened immediately after September 11 and the expulsion of the Taliban from Afghanistan.[66] Hazara community leader Sardar Sa'adat Ali Hazara stated, "The locations of the hideouts and training camps of the groups involved in attacks on Hazaras are not secret, [..] The government and the law-enforcement agencies seem to have no interest in protecting us."[63]

In 2002, 12 Shia police cadets were gunned down in Quetta. In 2003, the main Shia Friday Mosque was attacked in Quetta, killing 53 worshippers. March 2, 2004, at least 42 persons were killed and more than 100 wounded when a procession of the Shia Muslims was attacked by rival Sunni extremists at Liaquat Bazaar in Quetta.[67] Separately, on October 7, 2004, a car bomb killed 40 members of an extremist Sunni organization in Multan. 300 people died during 2006.[68] 53 people died and 150 were critically injured in a suicide attack on a Shia mosque in Quetta in 2003. Since then, more than 700 Shias, most of them Hazara, have been killed in gun attacks, rocket attacks, mass killings and suicide bombings in Balochistan.[63]

On December 28, 2009, as many as 40 Shias were killed in an apparent suicide bombing in Karachi. The bomber attacked a Shia procession which was held to mark Ashura.[69]

Many of young Hazara have had to flee to Europe and Australia, often illegally, in order to escape the oppression.[63]

Christians

[edit]
Main article: Christianity in Pakistan
Further information: Persecution of Christians in Pakistan

People belong to Christian minority in Pakistan are often victimized. Hundreds of Christians are accused blasphemy which is punishable by death sentence according to Pakistani law — at least 12 Christians have received death sentence for blaspheming against the Prophet.[50][70]

In March 2002, five people were killed in an attack on a church in Islamabad, including an American schoolgirl and her mother.[71]

In August 2002, masked gunmen stormed a Christian missionary school for foreigners in Islamabad; six people were killed and three injured. None of those killed were children of foreign missionaries.[72]

In August 2002, grenades were thrown at a church in the grounds of a Christian hospital in north-west Pakistan, near Islamabad, killing three nurses.[73]

On 25 September 2002, two terrorists entered the "Peace and Justice Institute", Karachi, where they separated Muslims from the Christians, and then murdered seven Christians by shooting them in the head.[74][75] All of the victims were Pakistani Christians. Karachi police chief Tariq Jamil said the victims had their hands tied and their mouths had been covered with tape. In November 2005, 3,000 militant Islamists attacked Christians in Sangla Hill in Pakistan and destroyed Roman Catholic, Salvation Army and United Presbyterian churches. The attack was over allegations of violation of blasphemy laws by a Pakistani Christian named Yousaf Masih. The attacks were widely condemned by some political parties in Pakistan.[76]

In August 2009, six Christians, including four women and a child, were burnt alive by Muslim militants and a church set ablaze in Gojra, Pakistan when violence broke out after alleged desecration of a Qur'an in a wedding ceremony by Christians.[77][78]

On 2 March 2011, the only Christian minister in the Pakistan government was shot dead. Shahbaz Bhatti, Minister for Minorities, was in his car along with his niece. Around 50 bullets struck the car. Over 10 bullets hit Bhatti. Before his death, he had publicly stated that he was not afraid of the Taliban's threats and was willing to die for his faith and beliefs. He was targeted for opposing the anti-free speech "blasphemy" law, which punishes insulting Islam or its Prophet.[79] A fundamentalist Muslim group claimed responsibility.[80]

In March 2013, a mob of thousands in Pakistan’s Lahore city burnt down dozens of houses in a Christian neighbourhood insofar as the community was forced to escape after an alleged blasphemy by a resident of the area.[20]

Hindus and Sikhs

[edit]
Main article: Hinduism in Pakistan
Further information: Anti-Hinduism in Pakistan

According to the Sustainable Development Policy Institute report 'Associated with the insistence on the Ideology of Pakistan has been an essential component of hate against India and the Hindus. For the upholders of the Ideology of Pakistan, the existence of Pakistan is defined only in relation to Hindus, and hence the Hindus have to be painted as negatively as possible'[81] A 2005 report by the National Commission for Justice and Peace a non profit organization in Pakistan, found that Pakistan Studies textbooks in Pakistan have been used to articulate the hatred that Pakistani policy-makers have attempted to inculcate towards the Hindus. 'Vituperative animosities legitimise military and autocratic rule, nurturing a siege mentality. Pakistan Studies textbooks are an active site to represent India as a hostile neighbour' the report stated. 'The story of Pakistan’s past is intentionally written to be distinct from, and often in direct contrast with, interpretations of history found in India. From the government-issued textbooks, students are taught that Hindus are backward and superstitious.' Further the report stated 'Textbooks reflect intentional obfuscation. Today’s students, citizens of Pakistan and its future leaders are the victims of these partial truths'.[82][83][84][85]

An editorial in Pakistan's oldest newspaper Dawn commenting on a report in The Guardian on Pakistani Textbooks noted 'By propagating concepts such as jihad, the inferiority of non-Muslims, India’s ingrained enmity with Pakistan, etc., the textbook board publications used by all government schools promote a mindset that is bigoted and obscurantist. Since there are more children studying in these schools than in madrassahs the damage done is greater. '[86][87]

According to Pervez Hoodbhoy, a physics professor at Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad, the "Islamizing" of Pakistan's schools began in 1976 when an act of parliament required all government and private schools (except those teaching the British O-levels from Grade 9) to follow a curriculum that includes learning outcomes for the federally approved Grade 5 social studies class such as: 'Acknowledge and identify forces that may be working against Pakistan,' 'Make speeches on Jihad,' 'Collect pictures of policemen, soldiers, and national guards,' and 'India's evil designs against Pakistan.'[88]

In January 2013 a 40-year-old Sikh man, a herbal medicines' seller, was beheaded by a “militant” group in Pakistan’s tribal region. He was kidnapped over a month prior to when his body was found.[89][90]

Religious discrimination and temple destruction

[edit]
Further information: Persecution of Hindus in Pakistan

Several Hindu temples have been destroyed in Pakistan.[93][94] In Pakistan most of the Hindu temples were razed in last four decades and the idols of Hindu Gods and Goddesses were used as stepping stone in Mosques.[95] One of the several notable incident was the destruction of the Ramna Kali Mandir in former East Pakistan.[96] The temple was bulldozed by the Pakistan Army on 27 March 1971. The original 800-year old idol in Dhakeshwari Temple was deliberately destroyed,[97] and over half of the temple's buildings were destroyed during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 by the Pakistani Army.[98] The temple was desecrated by the Pakistan Army and used as an ammunitions storage area. Several of the temple custodians were tortured and killed by the Army, including the Head Priest.

Sikh community of tribal region were forced to pay Rs 20 million as Jizya, a tax levied on non-Muslims living under Islamic rule as Islamic tax in protection money, to the Taliban leaders. Taliban's demand was actually for Rs 50 million as 'jizia' but negotiations brought it down to 20 Rs 20 Million.[99] Sikh-owned shops and houses are being held for ransom.[92]

A frightened Sikh businessman Aman Deep Singh (pseudonym) “We were living under fear. Fear of the Taliban, fear of Lashkar-e-Islam and fear of other armed groups, ..I am not the only one. About 400 Sikh and 57 Hindu families migrated from (the town of) Bara and Tirah,”[92]

In Pakistan the Sikh community of Lahore are periodically prevented from celebrating their religious festival. It is claimed "that celebrating the Muslim holy day of Shab-e-Barat was more important than the Sikh religious festival".[100] The Sikhs are barred, by armed Policemen, from even entering the premises of their Gurdwara, 'Shaheed Bhai Taru Singh', built in Lahore to honour the memory of a Sikh saint Bhai Taru Singh who was executed by Mughal governor of Punjab, Zakaria Khan in 1745. Moreover, in 2011, the musical equipments of the Sikhs were thrown out and their entry to the Gurdwara was barred based on the efforts of the Dawat-e-Islami, a proselytising group. It was reported that the ownership of Gurdwara was disputed. The Gurdwara was taken over by the ′Evacuee Trust Property Board′ after partition. The Leader of the Islamic group Dawat-e-Islami, Sohail Butt claimed that the Gurdwara has now been turned into a Mosque and that the temple was inside the courtyard of the mosque, hence Muslims had more right to it than Sikhs.[100] ETPB had accepted the Islamic group's stance that "Shab-e-Barat is more important than the Sikh ritual".[100]

In 2006, the last Hindu temple in Lahore was destroyed to pave the way for construction of a multi-storied commercial building. When reporters from Pakistan-based newspaper Dawn tried to cover the incident, they were accosted by the henchmen of the property developer, who denied that a Hindu temple existed at the site.[101]

On June 29, 2005, following the arrest of an illiterate Christian janitor on allegations of allegedly burning Qur'an pages, a mob of between 300 and 500 Muslims destroyed a Hindu temple and houses belonging to Christian and Hindu families in Nowshera. Under the terms of a deal negotiated between Islamic religious leaders and the Hindu/Christian communities, Pakistani police later released all previously arrested perpetrators without charge.[102] In October 2004, unidentified persons occupied a Hindu temple in Hyderabad. Police took no action to oust the illegal occupiers.[102]

A 100-year old Shri Rama Pir Mandir was demolished in Karachi, Pakistan on 3 December 2012 despite a petition seeking stay order in Pakistani court.[103] Locals accused the demolition team of stealing all their gold jewellery and the crowns of the four deities.[91][103] "We don’t have any shelter. Our children spent Saturday night shivering in the cold. We were made homeless in just seconds. What was our fault?", asked a victim.[104] The angry crowd demanded the government arrange tickets to India for them.
“If you don’t want us, we will go to India,", said one. Another man added that, “our temple is as sacred to us as your mosque is to you.”[91]

Forceful Conversions

[edit]

At the time of partition there was a sizeable Hindu minority, in 1951 it stood approximately at 22% of the general population of Pakistan.[105] Since then the numbers declined and by 1998 it stood somewhere around 1.6%.[1] According to Pakistan Minority rights group, around 600 Hindus, Sikhs and Christians are forcibly converted each year,[106] while the AHRC reported 2,000 cases of forced conversions in 2011.[107] According to a lawyer and human rights activist who was formerly a special adviser to Benazir Bhutto, Amar Lal, 11,000 Hindus from Baluchistan province have migrated to India because of apprehensions about security and fear of kidnappings and forced conversions of their young Hindu girls to Islam. The complain is plurality of Hindu girls have been kidnapped, and convert to Islam after they are forced to marry their abductor.[3] Lal said, "It is a conspiracy that Hindus and Christians and other minorities should leave Pakistan. [..]As a minority, we feel more and more insecure. It is getting worse day by day."[108] Many hindu parents don't send their young girls to school due to the fear of kidnapping and forceful conversion.[109]

There are many examples of forceful conversion of Hindus/Sikhs into Islam[106] due to which a large number of Sikhs[110] and Hindus[111][4] are fleeing Pakistan and taking refuge in India.[4] Forced conversions,[112][20] extortion and kidnapping are regular in Pakistan. Condition of Pakistani minorities are among world's worst.[13][14][113]

A Pakistan Muslim League politician have stated that abduction of Hindus and Sikhs is a business in Pakistan, along with conversions of Hindus to Islam.[114] Forced conversion, rape, and forced marriages of Hindu women in Pakistan (akin to Love Jihad) have recently become very controversial in Pakistan.[115][116] Human rights groups claimed that rape was often used against women to humiliate and dishonor them. Minority rights groups claimed that Hindu and Christian women were especially vulnerable. Due to prosecutions under the Hudood Ordinances and the high social stigma attached to rape, very few cases are reported.[102]

Jews

[edit]
Main article: Antisemitism in Pakistan
Further information: Jewish exodus from Pakistan

At the time of Pakistani independence in 1947, some 1,300 Jews remained in Karachi, many of them Bene Israel Jews, observing Sephardic Jewish rites. There used to be a small but vibrant Jewish community in Pakistan but as antisemitism rose the Jews fled the nation.[117] 809 Jews were enrolled in general elections of 2013 as voters.[19]

Antisemitism is rife in Pakistan today. The public rejection of Zionism increased after the creation of State of Israel and the consequent Arab Israeli Wars. Antisemitism is very common among Pakistani Muslims but anti-Zionism evolved after the creation of the State of Israel. Jewish residents of Karachi were attacked by Muslims at the creation of the State of Israel. David Ben-Gurion's statement in The Jewish Chronicle about Pakistan increased the hostility for the Pakistanis.[117][118]

Atheists and agnostics

[edit]

Expression of Atheistic perspective can bring capital punishment in Pakistan like many other Islamic countries.[119]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Population by Religion in Pakistan". Census.gov.pk. Retrieved 2013-05-13.
  2. ^ Mehmood, Rabia (5 March 2012). "For minority women, insecurity is compounded by gender and religion". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 12 May 2013. The commission said that the study focused on the Christian and Hindu religions because over 90% of Pakistan's minorities belong to these faiths.
  3. ^ a b c d e Gannon, Kathy (2013-05-08). "Battered and bullied, Pakistan's religious minorities say they have little faith in democracy — Yahoo! News". News.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
  4. ^ a b c d e United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, USCIRF Annual Report 2013 - Countries of Particular Concern: Pakistan, 30 April 2013. [accessed 13 June 2013]
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Notes

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  • S. K. Singh (2007). M. H. Syed (ed.). Human Rights in Pakistan. Pentagon Press. ISBN 8182741998. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  • Kamath, edited by P.M. (2005). India-Pakistan relations. New Delhi: Promilla & Co., Publishers. ISBN 8185002479. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  • Srinivas, M.N. (1995). Social change in modern India ([New Indian ed.] ed.). New Delhi: Orient Longman. ISBN 812500422X.
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