Religious freedom in Pakistan is under growing pressure as extremist groups tighten their influence on public life, according to a new report from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP).
The study, Streets of Fear: Freedom of Religion or Belief in 2024/25, covers incidents between July 2024 and June 2025. It highlights intimidation of judges, elected officials and lawyers by hard-line groups, as well as violence and discrimination against religious minorities.
The HRCP warned that hate speech, including threats against the chief justice of the Supreme Court, reflects a climate in which extremist voices are increasingly emboldened. The report also raised concern over bar associations adopting positions in line with extremist groups, weakening the independence of the legal profession.
Documented abuses include forced conversions of underage girls, mob lynchings, targeted killings, destruction of places of worship, and extrajudicial executions linked to blasphemy accusations.
Cases cited include the abduction and forced conversion of Christian minor Laiba Suhail in Faisalabad in early 2024, though she was later rescued by police. Another Christian girl, Alina, remains missing. Hindu families in Sindh Province also continue to report that underage girls are abducted, converted and forced into marriage, with poverty making Scheduled Caste Hindus particularly vulnerable.
The report highlighted the role of cleric-politician Mian Abdul Haq, known as Mian Mithu, accused of orchestrating conversions at his seminary in Sindh. The UK sanctioned him in 2022. In many cases, police reportedly sided with abductors, claiming it was forbidden under Islam to return a girl to her family after conversion.
Blasphemy laws remain a major concern. The HRCP described accusations as often malicious, noting that “a mere accusation of blasphemy can be a death sentence.” Christian sisters Saima and Sonia were released on bail in October 2024 after being accused of desecrating sacred writings. In June 2025, the Supreme Court acquitted Christian prisoner Anwar Kenneth after 23 years of detention, ruling he was of unsound mind. That same month, Christian man Farhan Masih from Sahiwal was acquitted after five months in prison on blasphemy and anti-terrorism charges.
The Ahmadi community continues to face deadly attacks. Six Ahmadis were reported killed between July 2024 and May 2025, and at least 29 of their places of worship were attacked, many demolished with the involvement of law enforcement agencies. In January, a historic site in Sialkot linked to Pakistan’s first foreign minister, Sir Zafarullah Khan, was destroyed.
While acknowledging some progress, such as the Child Marriage Restraint Act 2025 raising the legal marriage age for girls to 18, the HRCP urged further reforms. It called for equal marriage age legislation across all provinces, monitoring of seminaries involved in forced conversions, stronger police training to prevent mob violence, and an independent national commission to safeguard minority rights.
Pakistan is ranked eighth on Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List of the most difficult countries in which to be a Christian.
Adapted from Morning Star News.
