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Christianity is the third largest religion in Pakistan, making up about 1.27% of the population according to the 2017 Census. 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 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 Pakistan Penal Code, the main criminal code of Pakistan, penalizes blasphemy against any recognized religion, providing penalties ranging from a fine to death. According to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, around 80 people are known to be incarcerated in Pakistan on blasphemy charges—half of those face life in prison or the death penalty. From 1967 to 2014, over 1,300 people were accused of blasphemy, with Muslims constituting most of those accused. According to human rights groups, blasphemy laws in Pakistan have been exploited not only for persecuting minorities but also for settling personal rivalries, often against other Muslims. Though no judicial execution has been carried out under these laws, many of those accused, their lawyers and any persons speaking against blasphemy laws and proceedings have become victims of lynchings or street vigilantism in Pakistan. More than 75 people were murdered for blasphemy between 1987 and 2017.
Blasphemy in Islam is impious utterance or action concerning God, but is broader than in normal English usage, including not only the mocking or vilifying of attributes of Islam but denying any of the fundamental beliefs of the religion. Examples include denying that the Quran was divinely revealed, the prophethood of one of the Islamic prophets, insulting an angel, or maintaining God had a son.
The Ahmadiyya branch of Islam has been subject to various forms of religious persecution and discrimination since the movement's inception in 1889. The Ahmadiyya Muslim movement emerged from the Sunni tradition of Islam and its adherents believe in all the five pillars and articles of faith required of Muslims. Ahmadis are considered non-Muslims by many mainstream Muslims since they consider Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the movement, to be the promised Mahdi and Messiah awaited by the Muslims.
Mohammed Aqeel was a Pakistani militant and member of the banned terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and former soldier in Pakistan Army Medical Corps where he worked until 2006. Originally from Kahuta Tehsil in Punjab.
The 2009 Gojra riots were a series of attacks targeting Christians in Gojra town in Punjab province of Pakistan. These resulted in the deaths of eight Christians including a child.
The Federal Republic of Nigeria operates two court systems. Both systems can punish blasphemy. The Constitution provides a customary (secular) system and a system that incorporates Sharia. The customary system prohibits blasphemy by section 204 of Nigeria's Criminal Code.
Rana Sanaullah Khan is a Pakistani politician. He is the 39th Interior Minister of Pakistan. He is a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan since August 2018. He is serving as the President of Pakistan Muslim League (N) Punjab since 4 May 2019.
Mughees and Muneeb Butt were two Pakistani brothers who were lynched by mob on August 15, 2010 in Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan. The brothers were killed, hung, and mutilated in Sialkot with the support of local police and Rescue 1122.
In 2010, a Pakistani Christian woman, Aasiya Noreen, commonly known as Asia Bibi or Aasia Bibi, was convicted of blasphemy by a Pakistani court and was sentenced to death by hanging. In October 2018, the Supreme Court of Pakistan acquitted her based on insufficient evidence, though she was not allowed to leave Pakistan until the verdict was reviewed. She was held under armed guard and was not able to leave the country until 7 May 2019; she arrived in Canada the next day.
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".
Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, better known as Mumtaz Qadri, was a Pakistani terrorist and the assassin of Salmaan Taseer, Governor of Punjab. Qadri was a commando of the Elite Police and, at the time of the assassination, a member of the squad of personal bodyguards assigned to protect Salmaan Taseer. A follower of the Barelvi version of Sunni Islam, he assassinated Taseer on 4 January 2011. He claimed to have killed the Governor because Taseer spoke in defense of Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to death. Qadri was convicted by the Islamabad High Court, sentenced to death and hanged in February 2016.
Mashal Khan was a Pashtun and Muslim student at the Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Pakistan who was killed by an angry mob in the premises of the university on 13 April 2017, over allegations of posting blasphemous content online. Following investigations, the Inspector General Police later stated "We did not find any concrete evidence under which [a blasphemy] investigation or legal action can be launched against Mashal, Abdullah or Zubair". Mashal's friend Abdullah stated to the police in writing that both Mashal and Abdullah were devout Muslims, but were actively denouncing mismanagement by the university and had previously led protests against it. Following the death of Khan, at least 61 suspects were identified. 57 of the 61 suspected were arrested and sentenced on 7 February 2018. one culprit was awarded the death penalty, five were awarded life-time imprisonment and 25 other culprits were awarded four years jail sentence. 26 suspects were acquitted in the case because of lack of evidence. Four suspects were on the run, who later surrendered to the police on June 2018. Later on 21 March 2019, two more culprits in Mashal Khan case were awarded life imprisonment by the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC). Mashal Khan's father, speaking to media on 21 March 2019, claimed that he was satisfied with Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) verdict.
Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan is a far-right Islamic extremist political party in Pakistan. The party was founded by Khadim Hussain Rizvi in August 2015. It became the fifth largest party in 2018 Pakistani general election, but failed to win any seat in National Assembly and Punjab Assembly. However, it was successful in getting 3 seats in Sindh Assembly.
Khadim Hussain Rizvi was a Pakistani Islamic author and the founder of Tehreek-e-Labbaik, a political-religious organization founded in 2015, known to protest against any change to Pakistan's blasphemy law.
On the night of 11 August and the early hours of 12 August 2020, violent clashes took place around the residence of a legislator and the police stations of KG Halli and DJ Halli of the Indian city of Bangalore, Karnataka. Provoked by a Facebook post on Muhammad that was allegedly shared by the nephew of Akhanda Srinivas Murthy, a state legislator of the Indian National Congress, a group of Muslims arrived at his house in protest with petrol bombs, clubs which later turned violent.
Priyantha Kumara Diyawadana was a 49 year old Sri Lankan man who was lynched by a mob on 3 December 2021 in Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan over allegations of blasphemy. Supporters of the radical Sunni Islamist party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) were believed to be responsible for the killing of Kumara, while the TLP officially distanced itself from the incident. The Anti-Terrorism Court in Lahore announced death sentence for six directly involved in the lynching, nine people were sentenced five years’ jail for assisting, and 72 people were sentenced two-year prison for being silent spectators.
On 28 November 2021, religiously motivated arsonists destroyed a police station in Charsadda District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
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