Religious freedom in Pakistan continues to deteriorate: UN

NEW YORK : Asserting that religious freedom in Pakistan continues to “deteriorate” under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan, United Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) has said that discriminatory legislation by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-insaf government has empowered people with “extremist mindsets” to carry out attacks on religious minorities.

In its 47-page report titled ‘Pakistan-religious freedom under attack’, the commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council expressed concerns over the increasing “weaponisation

and politicisation” of blasphemy laws and the anti-ahmadiyya legislation which are being used by Islamist groups to persecute religious minorities and gain political ground.

The commission said Christian and Hindu communities are “particularly vulnerable”, especially women and girls.

“Each year hundreds are abducted and forced to convert and marry Muslim men. Victims have little or no hope of being returned to their families due to the serious threats and intimidation from abductors against the girls and their families. This is compounded by the lack of police will to take action, weaknesses in the judicial process and discrimination from both police and judiciary towards religious minority victims,” the report said.

The commission said that blasphemy laws in Pakistan are often misused to lodge false cases against the religious minorities.

It said cases of forced marriages and forced conversions are prevalent among Christian and Hindu girls and women, particularly in the Punjab and Sindh Provinces. Many victims are girls aged below 18. Hindu girls and women are targeted because they come from lower economic backgrounds, it said.