Lahore: A report by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has acknowledged the legislative progress with the National Commission for Minorities Act 2025 and the enactment of child marriage restraint laws in Punjab and Balochistan. However, it highlights ongoing violations against religious minorities, including the misuse of blasphemy laws, forced marriages, and hate speech, as well as the state's failure to ensure equal citizenship.
According to Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, their seventh annual report, "Sanctuary Denied: Freedom of Religion or Belief in 2025/26," emphasizes that the National Commission for Minorities Act remains unimplemented, and the commission is yet to be established. It notes the legal uncertainties faced by those accused of blasphemy and the lack of investigation into an alleged entrapment network. The report also details attacks on the Ahmadiyya community and their exclusion from public life.
The report indicates that Christian and Hindu girls face abduction and forced marriage, worsened by poverty and inadequate police responses. It criticizes discriminatory employment practices, the Islamisation of school curricula, and the sidelining of minority issues in mainstream media, all of which undermine equal citizenship.
The HRCP calls on the federal government to activate the National Commission for Minorities Act urgently, investigate alleged blasphemy entrapment networks, and hold accountable those inciting violence against minorities. It recommends stronger safeguards against forced conversions and underage marriages, FORB training for law enforcement, and protection for human rights defenders. It also urges Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to legislate a minimum marriage age of 18.
HRCP director Farah Zia, at the report's launch, criticized the state's exclusionary approach to religious minorities. Minority rights defender Nabila Feroz Bhatti highlighted the recent case of Kamran Gill, a Christian medical practitioner whose dispensary was burned following blasphemy allegations. HRCP Punjab vice-chair Raja Ashraf noted the exploitation and dangers arising from blasphemy accusations.
Amir Mahmood, representing the Ahmadi community, described severe restrictions on their freedom, noting the last public gathering was over 40 years ago. Shehri Pakistan director Arafat Mazhar urged the public to allow courts to handle blasphemy cases, rather than using accused individuals as symbols of the blasphemy law debate. Former HRCP chairperson Hina Jilani reminded that democracy should not distinguish between "minority" and "majority."