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The persecution of Christians can be historically traced from the first century of the Christian era to the present day. Christian missionaries and converts to Christianity have both been targets of persecution, sometimes to the point of being martyred for their faith, ever since the emergence of Christianity. Since the emergence of Christian states in Late Antiquity, Christians have also been persecuted by other Christians over differences in doctrine characterized as heresy.
Persecution of Christians in the post–Cold War era refers to the persecution of Christians from 1989 to the present. Part of a global problem of religious persecution, persecution of Christians in this era is taking place in Africa, the Americas, Europe, Asia and Middle East.
Women in Pakistan make up 48.76% of the population according to the 2017 census of Pakistan. Women in Pakistan have played an important role throughout Pakistan's history and they are allowed to vote in elections since 1956. In Pakistan, women have held high offices including that of the Prime Minister, Speaker of the National Assembly, Leader of the Opposition, as well as federal ministers, judges, and serving commissioned posts in the armed forces. Major General Shahida Malik, attaining the highest military post for a woman.
Hinduism is the second largest religion in Pakistan after Islam. Pakistan gained independence from Britain in 1947, and in the first census afterwards in 1951, Hindus made 1.6% of the total population of West Pakistan, and 22% of East Pakistan. However, before partition, according to the 1941 census, Hindus constituted 14% of the population in West Pakistan and 28% of the population in East Pakistan. According to the 1998 Pakistan Census, Hindus made up 1.85% of Pakistan's population, although the Pakistan Hindu Council claims there are around 8 million Hindus currently living in Pakistan, comprising 4% of the Pakistani population. As of 2010, Pakistan has the fifth-largest Hindu population in the world and by 2050 may rise to the fourth-largest Hindu population in the world, reaching 5.6 million and constituting 2% of the Pakistani population. However, Forced as well as some voluntary religious conversions have brought down the number of Hindus in Pakistan by up to 1,000 per year. After Pakistan gained independence from the British Raj, 4.7 million of West Pakistan's Hindus and Sikhs moved to India as refugees.
Christians make up one of the two largest (non-Muslim) religious minorities in Pakistan, along with Hindus. The proportion of Christians in Pakistan was estimated as about 1.6% of the population. Of these, approximately half are Catholic and half Protestant. A small number of Eastern Orthodox Christians and Oriental Orthodox Christians also live in Pakistan.
The state religion in Pakistan is Islam, which is practiced by 96.28% of the population. Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Pakistani constitution, which established a fundamental right of Pakistani citizens, irrespective of their religion, to equal rights. The remaining 4% practice Hinduism, Christianity, Ahmadis, Sikhism, Baháʼí Faith and other religions.
The situation of Human Rights in Pakistan is complex as a result of the country's diversity, large population, its status as a developing country and a sovereign Islamic democracy with a mixture of both Islamic and secular law. The Constitution of Pakistan provides for fundamental rights. The Clauses also provide for an independent Supreme Court, separation of executive and judiciary, an independent judiciary, independent Human Rights commission and freedom of movement within the country and abroad. However these clauses are not respected in practice.
The Catholic Church in Pakistan is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the pope in Rome.
The Pakistan Penal Code, the main criminal code of Pakistan, punishes blasphemy against any recognized religion, providing penalties ranging from a fine to death. From 1967 to 2014, over 1,300 people have been accused of blasphemy, with Muslims constituting most of those accused.
Forced conversion is the adoption of a different religion or the adoption of irreligion under duress. Someone who has been forced to convert to a different religion or irreligion may continue, covertly, to adhere to the beliefs and practices which were originally held, while outwardly behaving as a convert. Crypto-Jews, crypto-Christians, crypto-Muslims and crypto-Pagans are historical examples of the latter.
Buddhism in Pakistan took root some 2,300 years ago under the Mauryan king Ashoka. Buddhism has played a major role in the history of Pakistan — the land of which over time has been part of predominantly Buddhist empires such as the Indo-Greek Kingdom, the Kushan Empire, the Maurya Empire of Ashoka, the Pala Empire.
Sectarian violence in Pakistan refers to attacks and counter-attacks against people and places in Pakistan motivated by antagonism toward the target's sect, usually a religious extremist group. Targets in Pakistan include the Shia, Barelvis, Sunnis, Sufis, Ahmadis, and small groups of Deobandis. As many as 4,000 people are estimated to have been killed by Shia-Sunni sectarian attacks in Pakistan between 1987–2007. And since 2008 thousands of Shia have been killed by Sunni extremists according to Human Rights Watch (HRW). One significant aspect of the attacks in Pakistan is that militants often target Sunni and Shia worshipping places during prayers in order to maximize fatalities and to "emphasize the religious dimensions of their attack". Human Rights Watch also states that in 2011 and 2012 Pakistan minority groups Hindus, Ahmadi, and Christians "faced unprecedented insecurity and persecution in the country". Attacks on Sufi shrines by Salafis have also been reported.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lahore is a Latin Metropolitan Archdiocese in Punjab province, Pakistan.
The Catholic Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Pakistan.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Faisalabad is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Pakistan.
Catholic Public High School, commonly known as Sangota Public School, is a private school in Sangota, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It was built in 1962 under the Roman Catholic Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi and was renowned for being the center of quality education in the entire Malakand region, and most of the teachers were Irish nuns who had devoted their lives to educating Swat's children.
At least six people, including three women, were killed, and as many as 29 people injured, 25 of them women, in twin suicide attacks at International Islamic University, Islamabad in the Pakistani capital Islamabad. Police say the blasts at the university were caused by suicide bombers. This was the first-ever attack on students in the country since the start of terrorism in 2001.
Love Jihad or Romeo Jihad is an Islamophobic conspiracy theory alleging that Muslim men target women belonging to non-Muslim communities for conversion to Islam by feigning love. The movement has also been described by some, including Inderpal Grewal, as antifeminist due to paternalistic attitudes towards women's choice in marriage and by allegedly using women's rights as a cover for Hindu nationalism. The concept rose to national attention in India in 2009 with alleged conversions first in Kerala and subsequently, in Karnataka.
Religious discrimination in Pakistan is a serious issue for the human rights situation in modern-day Pakistan. Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Shias and Ahmadis among other religious minorities often face discrimination and at times are even subjected to violence. In some cases Christian churches and Ahmadi mosques and the worshippers themselves have been attacked. Khawaja Nazimuddin, the 2nd Prime Minister of Pakistan, stated: "I do not agree that religion is a private affair of the individual nor do I agree that in an Islamic state every citizen has identical rights, no matter what his caste, creed or faith be".
Rimsha Masih is a Pakistani girl from Islamabad, who was arrested by the Pakistani police on blasphemy charges on August 2012 when she was 14 years old. The alleged charges included desecrating pages of the Quran by burning—a crime punishable by death under Pakistan's blasphemy law. She is a member of Pakistan's Christian minority.
References
- 1 2 3 Dawn August 8, 2014
- ↑ "Presbyterian News Service 24 February 2009".
- ↑ "UCANews September 19, 2007".[ permanent dead link ]
- ↑ United States Department of State, 2008 Report on International Religious Freedom - Pakistan, 19 September 2008
- ↑ "Catholic girls' school destroyed".
- ↑ AsiaNews.it April 21, 2009
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