- HRCP report reveals systemic discrimination against Pakistan minorities.
- Blasphemy laws misused, Ahmadiyya community targeted, forced conversions.
- HRCP urges Pakistan government to implement laws, protect minority rights.
Pakistan Minority Rights Issue: Pakistan's religious minorities are still grappling with severe systemic discrimination despite recent legislative milestones such as the National Commission for Minorities Act 2025 and new child marriage restraint laws setting the minimum age to 18 in Punjab and Balochistan. This was stated in the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan's (HRCP) seventh annual report titled ‘Sanctuary Denied: Freedom of Religion or Belief (2025/26)’ which was published on Thursday.
HRCP Report Flags Freedom Violations
The HRCP report warns that religious freedom violations continue despite the fact that Pakistan passed new progressive laws. It stated that the National Commission for Minorities Act has still not been put into action months after passing, and the commission itself has not been set up. At the same time, hundreds of people accused of blasphemy are still stuck waiting for legal decisions.
Systemic Threats And Persecution
The report further states that religious minorities face targeted hardships across multiple fronts, including the misuse of blasphemy laws, the targeting of the Ahmadiyya community, abductions and forced conversions, and everyday marginalization. The report highlights growing violence and discrimination against the Ahmadiyya community, including two extremist attacks in Chenab Nagar and ongoing efforts to push Ahmadis out of public and business life.
Recommended For You
On the blasphemy law misuse issue, HRCP Punjab vice-chair Raja Ashraf warned that blasphemy accusations have become a dangerous tool for exploiting vulnerable people. The report highlights that young girls from Christian and Hindu communities continue to face forced marriages and abductions, worsened by poverty and inadequate police interventions. Not only this, the suppression of minorities also takes place through everyday marginalization. This includes discriminatory employment practices, Islamisation of school curricula, and the sidelining of minority issues in mainstream media to further entrench second-class status.
Pakistani Govt Urged To Take Action
In light of these findings, the HRCP has urged the Pakistani government to immediately operationalise the Minorities Commission, investigate blasphemy entrapment networks, protect human rights defenders and journalists, and enforce mandatory FORB training for law enforcement.
“The report urges the federal government to operationalise the National Commission for Minorities Act without further delay, investigate alleged blasphemy entrapment networks and hold accountable those who incite violence against minorities. It also calls for stronger safeguards against forced conversions and underage marriages, mandatory FORB training for law-enforcement agencies, and effective protection for human rights defenders, lawyers and journalists. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa must also enact legislation setting the minimum marriageable age at 18 for all,” a press release by the organisation noted.
You May Also Like To Watch: