Asia: Pakistan Country Report Last Updated: July 2009 Code: A-2, 3; B-1 ( Click here for a code description .)
	(Click here for a list of ICC articles on Pakistan.) List of Articles Last Updated: 2009-07-21

COUNTRY STATISTICS

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State Dept. Religious Freedom Reports:

2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004

Religious Atmosphere:

• Muslims make up 95% of Pakistan's people. Hindus make up 1.5% and Christians 1.7%. 70% of the Christian population is in the poorest segment of society. The growth of the Christian church is calculated at 3.9%.
• According to Shi'a and Sunni political leaders, as well as government officials, the violence against religious minorities is not the result of societal intolerance against religious communities, but is organized and carried out by groups of religious extremists.
• Blasphemy allegations, which are often false, result in lengthy detention of and sometimes violence against Christians.

Extremist Groups:

• There are numerous extremist Muslim groups currently operating within this country. The government's inability to provide basic services in recent years has left room for many of these groups to step in and assume various responsibilities. These responsibilities include running clinics and hospitals, setting up job training, providing dowries, and operating institutes of higher education. In addition to the universities, these groups also operate madrassas, which are Islamic schools whose curriculum often includes military/weapons training. Most of these groups maintain their own cadre of fighters and even give them battle experience fighting for Muslim causes in areas like Afghanistan. The graduates of these madrassas are joining the junior officer ranks of the military, a traditionally secular institution. Some of the main extremist groups are Jamaat-e-Islami, Tanzeem Ilhwane-e-Pakistan, Sipah-I-Sahabah and Lashkar-e-Taiba. All of these groups maintain popular public support due to the services and hope they provide.
• Many of the graduates from Madrassas (Fundamental Islamic Schools) join these extremist groups that specialize in the cause of Jihad. Pakistan's extremist groups are some of the ardent supporters of Osama Bin Laden and Al- Qaeda. Pakistan is also said to be the refuge of Laden.
• The Taliban is currently fighting the Pakistani military for control of the Swat Valley, and carries out intense persecution against religious minorities in areas they control.

Government:

• The constitution sets up Islam as the state religion.
• Members of a religious minority are barred from ever holding the office of President or Prime Minister by the constitution.
• Conversions are not illegal but proselytizing among Muslims is prohibited.
• Local law enforcement officials commonly fail to take precautions against Islamic extremists abusing religious minorities or to investigate and prosecute those responsible for such actions.
• All Pakistani citizen are subject to a form of shari'a law, which was introduced in 1991. These laws are based on Islamic laws and are not supposed to apply to non-Muslims. Despite this fact, these laws have been applied in disputes between Muslims and non-Muslims.
• In a court of law, a Christian man's testimony is worth half of a Muslim man's and a Christian woman's testimony is worth only a quarter. As a result, many Christian women are raped and not able to obtain convictions against the perpetrators. Quite often, the victim is charged with having illicit sexual intercourse.
• A high court ruling stated that if a woman converts to Islam, her marriage, performed according to the rites of her previous faith, is null and void. There have been reports of this law being exploited by individuals abducting young women and forcing them to convert to Islam.
• A law currently on the books, Section 295(c) of the Penal Code, applies a death sentence to anyone who defiles the name of the Prophet Mohammed. This law only requires the testimony of four Muslims for a conviction. It is laws like this and the lack of proper law enforcement that encourages an environment where Muslims feel free to use intimidation and violence against religious minorities for personal gain as illustrated above.
• Although the government of Pakistan itself may not be engaged in a systematic effort to repress religious minorities, it is clearly not doing enough to adequately protect the religious freedom of all its citizens. Religious minority groups, including Christians, are subject to violent sectarian attacks by Sunni militants, often resulting in dozens of deaths. Although the government has taken some steps to hold the perpetrators to account, its efforts have not been sufficient.
• The government has been criticized for not taking the necessary steps to halt the activities of certain religious schools, or Madrassas, that have been implicated in the violence against religious minorities. The criminal laws against blasphemy are abused and have resulted in detention of and sometimes violence against religious minorities.
• The country's Hudood ordinances, which call for harsh punishments for those who purportedly violate Islamic Law, frequently result in violations of the rights of women in Pakistan. Often Christian women have been arrested under this ordinance and have been charged under the Islamic Law for not covering their heads.
• The Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), an alliance of religious parties that includes both Sunni and Shi'a groups, leads the opposition in the federal Parliament and holds a majority in the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) provincial assembly, and is part of the ruling coalition in Baluchistan. The MMA has called for strict adherence to the Shari'a Law. The MMA's outspoken calls for Islamic laws and morals have made the social climate more hostile to persons of other religions. When blasphemy and other religious cases are brought to court, extremists often pack the courtroom and make public threats against an acquittal. Judges and magistrates, seeking to avoid a confrontation with or violence from extremists, often continue trials indefinitely. As a result, those accused of blasphemy often face lengthy periods in prison and are burdened with increased legal costs and repeated court appearances.

Against Christians:

• In most cases police protection appears ineffective, and few are successfully prosecuted for crimes against Christians. Perpetrators of attacks on religious minorities are seldom brought to justice.
• Christian girls are repeatedly raped, molested and in some cases killed by Muslims. Although complaints have been registered with the police, the latter do not take effective action against the assailants. Hundreds of Christian women go from house to house to clean their lawns, toilets, cattle stables, and carry the garbage and human waste in the basket on their heads. These women are treated inhumanely as they are considered members of the lower caste. They are like slaves to the Muslim masters. These women and girls are often kidnapped, raped and made Muslims. Then they are married to the Muslim men. Whenever the parents or husbands of these women approach the Muslims to take their women back, the Muslim kidnappers and police authorities rebuke the Christians and tell them to go away.
• The blasphemy laws have given a strong foothold to many of the Muslims to file false accusations against Christian minorities, which often results in their arrest and deaths while they are in police custody.

Year 2009 Update:

• July 2009 - Police rob and beat Christian sewer workers
• July 2009 - Muslim mobs burn over 100 Christian homes
• June 2009 - Christian murdered for drinking tea from a Muslim cup
• June 2009 - Christian man raped and murdered for refusing to convert to Islam
• March 2009 - 13-year-old girl raped for two days before being released
• January 2009 - Thieves gang-rape girl in front of her parents after learning they are Christians

According to the International Religious Freedom Report, the government sought to increase protection of religious freedom during the year 2008, but has not achieved any substantial improvement.

Suggested Actions You Might Take:

• Pray for the Christians of Pakistan that they may be protected from harm and that the Christian message may be heard and received by all. Pray that the drive to institute stricter Islamic law would be blocked and equal treatment for all faiths would prevail.
• Write a respectful letter to one or more of the government officials listed below. Express your continuing concern for the safety and well being of the Christian community in Pakistan.
• Request information about what steps the government is taking to ensure their protection and freedom to practice their faith as laid out in the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights documents.
• Contact the elected national officials (Senators, Congressman etc.) for your area as well as the U.S. State Department and express concern for the well being of the Christians in Pakistan asking them to make an inquiry into their status.
• Please keep us informed of any replies or results you may receive! Contact ICC by email at ICC@persecution.org.
   
  

Official Contacts:

*We make every attempt to keep up with and reflect changes in the national government of each country and the current human rights situation. We appreciate your feedback if you find any discrepancies in this information. You can contact us by e-mail at ICC@PERSECUTION.ORG . Thanks.

POSTED:  May 21,2004