Religious Minorities in Pakistan

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Pakistan has five major ethno-regional communities in Pakistan: Baloch, Muhajir, Punjabis, Pushtuns and Sindhis, as well as several smaller groups. There are also religious and sectarian groups such as Ahmadis, Christians, Hindus, Kalasha, Parsis and Sikhs, and Shia Muslim sects including Ismailis and Bohras. [1]

Contents

According to the 1941 census of India, there were 5.9 million non-Muslims in the territories that came to form Pakistan in 1947 (West Pakistan and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). During and after Pakistan's independence in 1947, about 5 million Hindus and Sikhs emigrated to India, with Punjab alone accounting for migration of 3.9 million people. [2] According to the 1951 census conducted by the Government of Pakistan, Pakistan had 1.6% Hindu population. [3] In East Pakistan (Bangladesh), non-Muslims comprised 23.2% of the total population. [4] [5]

By 1997, the percentage of Hindus remained stable at 1.85% in Pakistan, [6] while Bangladesh has witnessed a decline with Hindus migrating from it because of insecurity due to fear of persecution, conflict, communal violence (as a result of newly created Bangladesh's assertion of its Muslim identity) and poverty. [7] [8] The percentage of Hindus in Bangladesh had fallen drastically to 9.2% by 2011, with non-Muslims accounting for 10.2% of the total population. [9] due to disproportionate birth rates between the two communities. The demolition of the Hindu temple site serves as a poignant illustration of the ongoing discrimination endured by the Hindu community in Pakistan. [10] In Pakistan, religious minorities, women, and transgender individuals remain subject to violence, discrimination, and persecution. Authorities frequently fall short in providing sufficient protection and holding perpetrators accountable for their actions. [11]

Much of the decrease in minority populations in Pakistan has occurred due to the events surrounding Partition, and the wars of 1965 and 1971. [12] Forced conversions and marriages occur largely in rural and backward areas in Pakistan. November 2019, Pakistan formed parliamentary committee to stop the act of forced conversion in the country. [13] However, according to "[t]he All Pakistan Hindu Panchayat (APHP)...[the] majority of cases of marriages between Hindu women and Muslim men were result of love affairs. It said due to honour, the family members of women concoct stories of abduction and forced conversions". [14]

Pakistan, from its very first day, used Islam as a state policy. This is evident in the decline in the numbers of minorities. Moreover, Pakistan's first law minister, Jogendar Nath Mandal, clearly stated in his resignation from the cabinet of Prime Minister Liaqat Ali Khan.

"I gave expression to this view of mine. I must say that this policy of driving out Hindus from Pakistan has succeeded completely in West Pakistan and is nearing completion in East Pakistan too." [15]

According to the Western religious freedom and human rights monitoring group Global Human Rights Defence, [16] [17] the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, and the United States Department of State, religious minorities face severe discrimination in Pakistan. [18] [19] [20] [21]

However in recent years, Pakistan has seen development in safeguarding the rights of the minorities. For instance in 2019, Supreme Court of Pakistan gave verdict that Christians would be able to register their marriages with an official marriage certificate. [22] In another case, Pakistan opened the Kartarpur Corridor, allowing Sikh pilgrims from around the world to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, one of the holiest shrines in Sikhism, as a goodwill gesture towards minorities. [23] Similarly, a judge in Pakistan nullified the "free-will" marriage of a Hindu girl, Mehik Kumari, and confirmed that she was underage when she "embraced" Islam and married a Muslim man. Activists had argued that Kumari was abducted and forcibly converted to Islam. [24]

Since these events, Pakistan has given over 1 million non-Muslims the right to vote. The number rose to 4.43 million from 3.63 million since 2018. [25]

Despite new allegations of torture and extrajudicial killings emerging, the government of Pakistan has not taken adequate measures to hold law enforcement agencies accountable for these serious abuses. Additionally, Islamist militants have carried out attacks targeting law enforcement officials and religious minorities, resulting in the loss of dozens of lives. [26]

Pakistan's blasphemy laws illustrate one of the most extreme instances of this issue: Since 1990, over 62 individuals have fallen victim to vigilante violence linked to blasphemy accusations. The repercussions of this legal and political marginalization are acutely felt by religious minority groups, impacting their daily lives significantly. [27] [28]

Religious minorities

Demographics

Pakistan Religious minorities as per (2017 census) [29]
Religious minoritiesPopulation %
Hindus ( Om.svg )4,444,4372.14%
Christians ( ChristianitySymbol.svg )2,637,5861.27%
Ahmadiyyas 207,6880.09%
Sikhs ( Khanda.svg )20,7680.01%
Others (inc. Jews, Jains, Buddhists, Irreligious)20,7670.01%
Total7,331,2463.53%

As per 2017 census, Pakistan has a population of 207,684,000. [30]

In 2012, according to the Government of Pakistan's National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), the population of officially registered religious minorities in Pakistan was as follows: [31]

According to the 1951 census conducted by the Government of Pakistan, West Pakistan had 1.6% Hindu population, while East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) had 22.05%. [7]

According to the 1998 census conducted by the Government of Pakistan, Hindus made up 1.85% of the population and Christians (Protestant and Roman Catholic) 1.59%, or around 3.2million people. [6] Other estimates put the numbers higher. Historically, there was also a small contingent of Jews in Pakistan who emigrated to Israel in 1948.

The U.S. State Department's International Religious Freedom Report 2002 estimated the Shi'a population to be between 10 and 15%, [32] of which between 550,000 and 600,000 are Ismailis, a sect of Shi'a Muslims and who pay tribute to their living spiritual leader, the Aga Khan.

In a 2011 book, Ishtiaq Ahmed wrote that "Some independent studies, however, suggest that the non-Muslims population of Pakistan is nearly 10 per cent and Hindus, Christians and Ahmadis make up four million each. It is generally noted that while majorities play down minority figures, the minorities inflate them. This is especially true of the Ahmadiyya community. Official statistics return less than 150,000 for them while the Ahmadis claim to be around ten million." [33]

Much of the decrease in minorities of Pakistan has occurred due to the events around the partition, the wars of 1965 and 1971. [12] In November 2019, Pakistan formed parliamentary committee to stop the act of forced conversion in the country. [13]

In 1995, the Parsis put their number at 2,831. [34]

Blasphemy law

Pakistan's Blasphemy law stems from section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code (6 October 1860) XLV of 1860. It states that whoever "defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine." [35] This law is phrased in vague terms (therefore violating the principle of legality), and is often used to level false accusations at people from religious minorities. Asia Bibi is a notable example of a person against whom such a violation occurred. Victims of these false accusations are often presumed guilty, and can be convicted without substantive evidence. [18]

Independent human rights organisation Global Human Rights Defence receives a number of cases each month from the representatives of victims of the blasphemy law. [18] [16]

According to the 2012 United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) annual report, "The government of Pakistan continues to engage in and tolerate systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of freedom of religion or belief." [19] [36] The USCIRF has designated Pakistan as "country of particular concern" since 2002. [19] [37] The report argues that "The country’s blasphemy laws, used predominantly in Punjab but also nationwide, target members of religious minority communities and dissenting Muslims and this frequently results in imprisonment. The USCIRF is aware of at least 16 individuals on death row and 20 more serving life sentences. The blasphemy law, along with anti-Ahmadi laws that effectively criminalise various practices of their faith, has created a climate of vigilante violence. Hindus have suffered from the climate of violence and hundreds have fled Pakistan for India." [38]

Farahnaz Ispahani who was the media advisor to the President of Pakistan from 2008 to 2012, has blamed the successive Pakistani governments of pursuing a "slow genocide" against minorities to shore up their political base. [39] A BBC FAQ notes that "Beginning in 1980, a slew of clauses was added to the chapter of religious offences in the Pakistan Penal Code. These clauses can be grouped into two categories - the anti-Ahmadi laws and the blasphemy laws." The BBC notes that there is widespread popular support for these laws in Pakistan, and that two prominent critics of these laws, Salman Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti, have been assassinated in 2011. Regarding the blasphemy laws, the BBC observes that: "Hundreds of Christians are among the accused - at least 12 of them were given the death sentence for blaspheming against the Prophet." [40]

Mass anti-Christian violence recently occurred in the 2009 Gojra riots and in the 2013 Joseph Colony riot and the 2013 Gujranwala riot. [41] Recent anti-Shia violence includes the February 2012 Kohistan Shia Massacre, the August 2012 Mansehra Shia Massacre [42] and the particularly deadly January 2013 [43] and February 2013 Quetta bombings. [44] The Ahmadiyya community in Pakistan was targeted in the similarly deadly May 2010 attacks on Ahmadi mosques in Lahore. [45] [46]

A survey carried out by All Pakistan Hindu Rights Movement Pakistan's revealed that out of 428 Hindu temples in Pakistan only around 20 survive today and they remain neglected by the Evacuee Trust Property Board which controls those while the rest had been converted for other uses since 1990. [47] However, in November 2019, government of Pakistan started restoring process for 400 Hindu temples in Pakistan. After restoration, the temples will be reopened to Hindus in Pakistan. [48]

Forced conversion

As of 2013, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reported that cases of forced conversion are increasing. [49] [50] because over the past few years, laws governing the rights of religious minorities in Pakistan have changed from neutral to explicitly discriminatory. [51] A 2014 report by the Movement for Solidarity and Peace (MSP) says about 1,000 women in Pakistan are forcibly converted to Islam every year (700 Christian and 300 Hindu). [52] [53] [54] However, an opposing view also exists and was recently documented in an interview published in The Times of India; "[t]he All Pakistan Hindu Panchayat (APHP)...[says the] majority of cases of marriages between Hindu women and Muslim men were result of love affairs. It said due to honour, the family members of women concoct stories of abduction and forced conversions". [55]

Sikhs in Hangu district stated they were being pressured to convert to Islam by Yaqoob Khan, the assistant commissioner of Tall Tehsil, in December 2017. However, the Deputy Commissioner of Hangu Shahid Mehmood denied it occurred and claimed that Sikhs were offended during a conversation with Yaqub though it wasn't intentional. [56] [57] [58] [59]

Many Hindu girls living in Pakistan are kidnapped, forcibly converted and married to Muslims. [60] According to the National Commission of Justice and Peace and the Pakistan Hindu Council (PHC) around 1000 Christian and Hindu minority women are converted to Islam and then forcibly married off to their abductors or rapists. This practice is being reported increasingly in the districts of Tharparkar, Umerkot and Mirpur Khas in Sindh. [61] According to another report from the Movement for Solidarity and Peace, about 1,000 non-Muslim girls are converted to Islam each year in Pakistan. [62] According to the Amarnath Motumal, the vice chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, every month, an estimated 20 or more Hindu girls are abducted and converted, although exact figures are impossible to gather. [63] In 2014 alone, 265 legal cases of forced conversion were reported mostly involving Hindu girls. [64]

Within Pakistan, the southern province of Sindh had over 1,000 forced conversions of Christian and Hindu girls according to the annual report of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan in 2018. According to victims' families and activists, Mian Abdul Haq, who is a local political and religious leader in Sindh, has been accused of being responsible for forced conversions of girls within the province. [65]

Hindu Temples

Gurdwaras

Churches

See also

Related Research Articles

Religious persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or a group of individuals as a response to their religious beliefs or affiliations or their lack thereof. The tendency of societies or groups within societies to alienate or repress different subcultures is a recurrent theme in human history. Moreover, because a person's religion frequently determines his or her sense of morality, worldview, self-image, attitudes towards others, and overall personal identity to a significant extent, religious differences can be significant cultural, personal, and social factors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Persecution</span> Systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group

Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these terms. The inflicting of suffering, harassment, imprisonment, internment, fear or pain are all factors that may establish persecution, but not all suffering will necessarily establish persecution. The threshold of severity has been a source of much debate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freedom of religion in Pakistan</span>

Freedom of religion in Pakistan is guaranteed by the Constitution of Pakistan for individuals of various religions and religious sects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freedom of religion in Afghanistan</span> Overview of religious freedom in Afghanistan

Freedom of religion in Afghanistan changed during the Islamic Republic installed in 2002 following a U.S.-led invasion that displaced the former Taliban government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religious segregation</span> Separation of people according to their religion

Religious segregation is the separation of people according to their religion. The term has been applied to cases of religious-based segregation which occurs as a social phenomenon, as well as segregation which arises from laws, whether they are explicit or implicit.

Freedom of religion in India is a fundamental right guaranteed by Article 25-28 of the Constitution of India. Modern India came into existence in 1947 and the Indian constitution's preamble was amended in 1976 to state that India is a secular state. Supreme Court of India ruled that India was already a secular state from the time it adopted its constitution, what actually was done through this amendment is to state explicitly what was earlier contained implicitly under article 25 to 28. Every citizen of India has a right to practice and promote their religion peacefully. However, there have been numerous incidents of religious intolerance that resulted in riots and violence, notably, the 1984 Anti-Sikh Massacre in Delhi, 1990 Exodus of Kashmiri Hindus from Kashmir, 1992-93 Bombay Riots in Mumbai, the 2008 Anti-Christian riots in Odisha. Some perpetrators of the 1984 Anti-Sikh Massacre in Delhi have not been brought to justice despite widespread condemnation.

Hindus have experienced both historical and ongoing religious persecution and systematic violence, in the form of forced conversions, documented massacres, genocides, demolition and desecration of temples, as well as the destruction of educational centres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hinduism in Pakistan</span> Overview of the presence, role and impact of Hinduism in Pakistan

Hinduism is the second largest religious affiliation in Pakistan after Islam. While Hinduism was one of the dominant faiths in the region a few centuries back, today Hindus account for only 2.14% of Pakistan's population or about 4.4 million people according to the 2017 Pakistani census. The Umerkot district has the highest percentage of Hindu residents in the country at 52.2%, while Tharparkar district has the most Hindus in absolute numbers at 714,698.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christianity in Pakistan</span> Overview of Christianitys presence in the country

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in Pakistan</span> History and development of religion in Pakistan

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human rights in Pakistan</span> Overview of the situation of human rights throughout 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blasphemy in Pakistan</span> Pakistani penal code on insulting religion

The Pakistan Penal Code outlaws blasphemy against any recognized religion, with punishments ranging from a fine to the death penalty. According to various human rights organizations, Pakistan's blasphemy laws have been used to persecute religious minorities and settle personal rivalries, frequently against other Muslims, rather than to safeguard religious sensibilities.

Forced conversion is the adoption of a religion or 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.

Sectarian violence in Pakistan refers to violence directed against people and places in Pakistan motivated by antagonism toward the target's religious sect. As many as 4,000 Shia are estimated to have been killed in sectarian attacks in Pakistan between 1987 and 2007, and thousands more Shia have been killed by Sunni extremists from 2008 to 2014, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW). Sunni Deobandis and Barelvis have also suffered from some sectarian violence, with attacks on religious shrines killing hundreds of worshippers, and some Deobandi leaders assassinated. Pakistan minority religious groups, including Hindus, Ahmadis, and Christians, have "faced unprecedented insecurity and persecution" in at least two recent years, according to Human Rights Watch. One significant aspect of the attacks in Pakistan is that militants often target their victims places of worship during prayers or religious services in order to maximize fatalities and to "emphasize the religious dimensions of their attack".

The Constitution of Bangladesh includes secularism as one of the four fundamental principles, despite having Islam as the state religion by 2A. Islam is referred to twice in the introduction and Part I of the constitution and the document begins with the Islamic phrase Basmala which in English is translated as “In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful” and article (2A) declares that :"Islam is the state religion of the republic". Bangladesh is mostly governed by secular laws, set up during the times when the region was ruled by the British Crown.

Persecution of Christians in Pakistan has been recorded since the country's independence in 1947. The persecution has taken many forms, including violence, discrimination, and blasphemy laws.

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 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".

The status of religious freedom in Asia varies from country to country. States can differ based on whether or not they guarantee equal treatment under law for followers of different religions, whether they establish a state religion, the extent to which religious organizations operating within the country are policed, and the extent to which religious law is used as a basis for the country's legal code.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coerced religious conversion in Pakistan</span> Human rights issue in Pakistan

In Pakistan, it is estimated that several hundred people belonging to the minority Hindu, Christian, and Sikh communities are kidnapped and forcefully converted or coerced through societal pressures to convert to Islam each year.

References

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  2. ↑ Kosinski, Leszek A.; Elahi, K. Maudood, eds. (2012). Population Redistribution and Development in South Asia. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 136. ISBN   9780706908374.
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  43. ↑ Formidable power of Pakistan's anti-Shia militants www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20983153
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  63. ↑ "Pakistan, Hindus, Forced Conversions, Islam".
  64. ↑ "265 cases of forced conversion reported last year, moot told". 20 March 2015.
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