February 8, 2023
Cited article by Abid Hussain, Al Jazeera
HRRC shares concern over the prevalence of persecution against religious minorities in Pakistan. We urge Pakistan to accept and implement the recommendations outlined in the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan's report.
Article Summary
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) organization published a report regarding the status of religious freedom in Pakistan from 2021-2022. The report stated that religious minorities in the country faced persecution consistently between July 2021 and June 2022. The report specifically highlighted that, in 2021, “around 60 cases of forced conversion were reported in the local media, of which 70 percent were girls under the age of 18”.
HRCP recommends multiple actions to reduce the persecution of religious minorities. First, the organization recommends raising the thresholds for blasphemy accusations to ensure that minority communities aren't overly policed. Second, HRCP advises that national curriculums and the state criminalize forced conversions. These measures hope to reduce the growing online hate speech, 54% of which is directed at the Ahmadi minority community. Lastly, HRCP calls for the creation of a nationally representative commission to represent religious minorities formally.