Pakistan’s top rights group raises ‘alarm’ on religious freedom

The HRCP report focuses on compelled conversions, desecration of locations of worship and marginalisation of the Ahmadi group.

Christians devotees attend an Easter mass on the Sacred Coronary heart Cathedral in Lahore [File: Arif Ali/AFP]

Islamabad, Pakistan – A distinguished rights group in Pakistan has expressed “appreciable alarm” over the state of spiritual freedom within the nation.

In its report titled A Breach of Religion: Freedom of Faith or Perception in 2021-22 launched on Tuesday, the Human Rights Fee of Pakistan (HRCP) mentioned incidents of the nation’s spiritual minorities dealing with persecution remained constant between July 2021 and June 2022.

The HRCP report targeted on compelled conversions, the desecration of locations of worship belonging to minorities and the marginalisation of the Ahmadi group.

It additionally questioned the standardised nationwide curriculum in components of Pakistan, which the group mentioned has created an “exclusionary narrative that sidelines Pakistan’s spiritual minorities”.

REPORT LAUNCH: HRCP's report 'A Breach of Religion: Freedom of Faith or Perception in 2021-22' observes with appreciable alarm developments throughout 2021/22 that belie the state’s dedication to freedom of faith or perception. 1/3@EUPakistanhttps://t.co/Vpj4o5KxRwpic.twitter.com/aKgY61f0iS

— Human Rights Fee of Pakistan (@HRCP87) February 7, 2023

The report mentioned that within the 12 months 2021 alone, “round 60 circumstances of compelled conversion have been reported within the native media, of which 70 p.c have been women beneath the age of 18”, most of them from the Sindh province.

Final month, a group of rights consultants from the United Nations had additionally deplored abductions, compelled marriages and conversions of ladies from Pakistan’s spiritual minorities, asking the federal government to take motion.

Pressured conversions and compelled marriages are forbidden in Islam.

In response to the HRCP report, Muslims account for about 96 p.c of Pakistan’s 207 million inhabitants, Hindus 2.1 p.c, Christians about 1.6 p.c, whereas the Ahmadis quantity solely about 0.2 p.c.

Pakistan’s Shia Muslim group, whereas not counted as a spiritual minority within the census information, makes up about 20 p.c of the overall inhabitants.

The Ahmadis contemplate themselves Muslim however are barred from referring to themselves as such, or from practising points of their religion beneath Pakistan’s strict blasphemy legal guidelines.

The HRCP mentioned the edge of proof concerning blasphemy accusations have to be raised within the nation.

“It have to be ensured that the legal guidelines in query will not be weaponised by folks to settle private vendettas, as is so typically the case,” it mentioned.

Knowledge for 2021, cited by the HRCP, confirmed at the least 585 circumstances of blasphemy have been registered by the police, most of them in Punjab province. Of those, at the least 16 circumstances have been filed in opposition to members of the Ahmadi group.

In response to an Al Jazeera tally, at the least 80 folks have been murdered in reference to blasphemy allegations in Pakistan since 1990.

The HRCP report additional mentioned greater than half of all on-line hate speech (53 p.c) in Pakistan is directed on the Ahmadi group, and made a number of suggestions to guard the nation’s minorities.

The group mentioned the controversial nationwide curriculum have to be revised to make sure that secular topics don't comprise any spiritual content material or “any materials that discriminates in opposition to spiritual minorities and sects or their faiths”.

“Except these measures are applied urgently, Pakistan will proceed to foster a local weather of impunity for perpetrators of faith-based discrimination and violence, permitting the already-narrow area for spiritual freedom to shrink even additional,” the HRCP mentioned in its assertion.

The rights group known as for pressing laws to criminalise compelled conversions and demanded the state make a concerted effort to counter sectarian violence by creating a nationwide narrative that “unambiguously eschews spiritual extremism and majoritarianism”.

It additionally requested for the formation of an autonomous, nationally consultant fee for spiritual minorities to be arrange by an act of parliament.

HRCP director Farah Zia mentioned the federal government’s declare on defending the spiritual minorities can't be seen in isolation and ties in with the state’s long-term insurance policies that betray an uneasy relationship with the minority communities.

She mentioned it was ironic that regardless of being a Muslim majority nation, Pakistan has struggled with the thought of equal citizenship since its inception.

“That is mirrored within the discriminatory clauses of the structure in addition to within the egregious persecution of minorities by the society at giant,” Zia informed Al Jazeera.

“The problematic composition of the nationwide fee for minorities, the only nationwide curriculum and incidence of compelled conversions solely testify to this sense of insecurity of the bulk.”

Patricia Gossman, affiliate Asia director for Human Rights Watch, mentioned the HRCP report places a highlight on freedom of faith and perception in Pakistan.

“The authorities have to take pressing measures to finish the authorized discrimination in opposition to spiritual minorities and to forestall spiritual persecution and marginalisation of minorities. The authorities additionally want to carry perpetrators of violence and discrimination in opposition to spiritual minorities accountable,” she informed Al Jazeera.