Religious discrimination in Pakistan

Religious discrimination in Pakistan is a serious issue for the human rights situation in modern-day Pakistan. Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Shias and Ahmadis among other religious minorities often face discrimination and at times are even subjected to violence. In some cases Christian churches and Ahmadi mosques and the worshippers themselves have been attacked.[1] Khawaja Nazimuddin, the 2nd Prime Minister of Pakistan, stated: "I do not agree that religion is a private affair of the individual nor do I agree that in an Islamic state every citizen has identical rights, no matter what his caste, creed or faith be".

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C

• There is no state today, certainly not in India, to protect Hindu interest in the international arena, to raise voice for the Hindus .... In December 1992, no less than 600 Hindu temples were destroyed in Bangladesh, thousands of Hindu homes were burnt down, hundreds of Hindu women were paraded naked on the streets of Bhola town, a number of Hindus were killed, Hindu shops were looted, Hindu deities were desecrated, Hindu girls were dishonoured. But the Government of India remained silent. In Pakistan, 300 temples were destroyed. In Lahore a Minister of Pakistan personally supervised the pulling down of a temple with the help of bulldozers, and several Hindus were murdered. But the Government of India remained silent. No matter how much tyranny, how much injustice is heaped on Hindus anywhere in the world, the State of India is not bothered - this is the essence of Secularism in India.
  • A. Chatterjee: Hindu nation, quoted from Elst, Koenraad (2001). Decolonizing the Hindu mind: Ideological development of Hindu revivalism. New Delhi: Rupa. p. 518-519

E

• In Pakistan, the dwindling percentage of 1 % Hindus ekes out an existence in constant fear of the never-ending harassment's and attacks by the Muslim majority (which is untroubled by any minoritism). A secularist paper, prudishly and secularly titling: Ethnic violence drives Sinhis across the border, lets out the truth in the small print: According to refugee Sukh Ram], most of the Hindus are forced to desert their homes because of their religion. 'We are not allowed to pray peacefully in the temple of celebrate Hindu festival's he said
  • Elst, Koenraad (1991). Ayodhya and after: Issues before Hindu society.

• [There were] similar incidents in Pakistan and Bangladesh. A list of hundreds of temples in Bangladesh in 1989 alone was compiled by the Hindu-Christian-Buddhist Council of Bangladesh. When the Pakistani government announced it would look after the reconstruction of the most important among the hundreds of temples demolished in December 1992, construction companies refused co-operation pleading hey had been threatened by Islamic militants no to colaborate with "idolatry".
  • Elst, K. (2010). The saffron swastika: The notion of "Hindu fascism". p 752

G

• Invisible walls were also rising among communities, between neighbors, and even within families. The seeds of intolerance had been there at the outset of Pakistan’s creation, though they’d been kept mostly buried. Now, Zia was watering them generously, and the Saudis were adding fertilizer. Mehtab had grown up with Hindu neighbors; they visited each other and played together. Soon, some Sunni Pakistanis refused to even have a Hindu cook in their house, because they considered the food impure.
  • Kim Ghattas, Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Forty-Year Rivalry That Unraveled Culture, Religion, and Collective Memory in the Middle East (2020)

J

• “In spite of the assurance given by the Qaid-i-Azam Christians are being ill-treated in the West Punjab. The rights of the Christians are being crushed in every form of life. We have, again and again, made representations to the Prime Minister of Pakistan and to the West Punjab Cabinet for our protection.”
  • Mr. William Joseph, President, All-Pakistan Christian League, Lahore, Civil & Military Gazette: May 19, 1947. in : **Talib, S. G. S. (1950). Muslim League Attack on Sikhs and Hindus inthe Punjab, 1947. Amritsar: Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee. [1] [2] [3] [4] p 239

S

• Pakistan Hindu leader Raja Chander Singh... says that the Hindu migration to India is now (proportionally) bigger than during the Partition day: "The future of Hindus in Pakistan is very bleak... They are leaving because of fear".
  • Raja Chander Singh, The Week, 11/11/1990. Quoted from Elst, Koenraad (1991). Ayodhya and after: Issues before Hindu society.

U

• Large-scale riots in East Pakistan have compelled over two lakh Hindus and other minorities to come over to India. Indians naturally feel incensed by the happenings in East Bengal. To bring the situation under control and to prescribe the right remedy for the situation it is essential that the malady be properly diagnosed. And even in this state of mental agony, the basic values of our national life must never be forgotten.
  • Joint statement for the Indo-Pak confederation that Deendayal Upadhyaya signed, on 12 April 1964, with Dr Lohia, quoted in L.K. Advani, My Country My Life (2008)