Human rights body raises alarm over continued persecution of religious minorities in Pakistan

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has raised serious concerns over the continued persecution of religious minorities across the country.

The rights body on Tuesday highlighted that a Christian man in Sargodha district of Pakistan’s Punjab province was lynched by a violent mob, following accusations of blasphemy, while the Ahmadiyya community withdrew from the electoral process entirely in the region, citing systemic discrimination and lack of safety.

Additionally, the HRCP mentioned that Punjab continued to account for the highest number of child abuse cases in the country.

“Between January and June 2024 alone, the province reported 78 per cent of the 1,630 cases nationwide, alongside 2,506 incidents of sexual abuse, 2,189 kidnappings, 457 cases of child trafficking, and 455 instances of physical abuse. The death of 11-year-old Ayesha, a domestic worker in Faisalabad, and similar incidents in Sargodha and Lahore exposed the violence faced by underage working children in private homes,” it stated.

The human rights organisation in its State of Human Rights in 2024 report detailed a surge in sexual violence against women, including those with mental disabilities, domestic abuse resulting in fatalities, involving pregnant women, and honour killings, which continued throughout the year in Punjab.

In a case involving an alleged rape at a private college in Lahore, the HRCP noted a failure by the authorities to gather conclusive evidence that the incident had occurred.

Highlighting the challenges faced by women in politics, the HRCP stated that “women Members of the Provincial Assembly (MPA) staged a walkout over inappropriate gestures” in the Punjab Assembly, while the allocation of reserved seats for women and minorities faced legal setbacks.

The HRCP’s report on human rights also noted that “workers’ rights and environmental conditions were also neglected” as sanitation workers continued to face hazardous working conditions. Meanwhile, it stated that the provincial government “failed to address dangerously high smog levels, with Lahore and Multan recording unprecedented air pollution levels in November”.

Raising alarm over political dysfunction and rising injustices in Punjab, the rights body stated that “Punjab Defamation Act 2024, hurriedly approved in June, was widely criticised by human rights networks for stifling free speech”. It further stated that the law was subsequently challenged in the Lahore High Court as “unconstitutional”.

The HRCP mentioned that Punjab authorities also imposed road closures to prevent the opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) protests in Islamabad, calling it an infringement on the “right to movement for both political activists and ordinary citizens.”