Minorities in Pakistan continue to face rights violations despite legislative measures to protect them: HRCP
LAHORE: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Thursday concluded that religious minorities continue to face violations of their fundamental rights — including through the misuse of blasphemy laws, forced marriages and conversions, hate speech and discriminatory practices — despite recent legislative measures aimed at protecting them. In its seventh annual report on freedom of…
Pakistan's Human Rights Commission (HRCP) has released a seventh annual report on religious freedom, titled "Sanctuary Denied: Freedom of Religion or Belief in 2025/26", which found minorities continue to face numerous rights violations. The report detailed ongoing issues including misuse of blasphemy laws, forced marriages, hate speech, and discriminatory practices.
Additionally, the HRCP documented attacks on the Ahmadi community and highlighted cases of girls being abducted and forced into marriage. The commission warned that the state's approach to religious minorities is becoming more exclusionary. Human rights defender Nabila Feroz Bhatti cited the case of Christian medical practitioner Kamran Gill, whose dispensary was burned down after he was accused of sharing blasphemous content online.
The HRCP also called for the implementation of the National Commission for Minorities Act 2025 and passage of laws raising the minimum marriageable age to 18. They recommended improvements in police training, oversight of seminaries, and stronger safeguards for human rights defenders.
Written by urgent.news from Dawn - Pakistan's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
