EDITORIAL: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan’s latest report on freedom of religion or belief presents a sobering picture of the challenges confronting religious minorities. While recent legislation offers grounds for cautious optimism, the report highlights a persistent gap between legal guarantees and everyday realities. Protecting minorities is not merely a matter of legislative compliance; it is a fundamental test of the state’s commitment to justice, equality before law and democratic citizenship. The failure to constitute the National Commission for Minorities, despite the passage of the relevant legislation in 2025, is particularly troubling.
Laws cannot deliver their intended benefits without functional, independent and adequately empowered institutions. The federal government must constitute the commission without delay and ensure meaningful representation of minority communities.
The most sensitive aspect of the report concerns the misuse of blasphemy laws. Given the gravity of such allegations and their potentially devastating social and legal consequences, these cases demand scrupulous adherence to due process. An accusation must never be treated as proof of guilt or become a pretext for intimidation, vigilantism or mob violence. Repeated attacks on Christian communities, including the violence in Gojra in 2009 and Jaranwala in 2023, demonstrate how blasphemy allegations can trigger collective punishment, putting entire communities at risk. The December 2021 lynching of Sri Lankan factory manager Priyantha Kumara in Sialkot, following allegations that he had desecrated religious posters bearing the name of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), further illustrates the devastating consequences when accusations and rumours incite violence before the facts are established.
Upholding the rule of law requires safeguarding the integrity of investigations and judicial proceedings. Cases under Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code should be investigated by senior, impartial officials, with findings grounded in credible evidence and appropriate forensic examination. Allegations of organised entrapment, intimidation or fabricated evidence must also be investigated wherever credible grounds exist. Equally important is protecting accused persons, witnesses and others involved in proceedings from threats and coercion.
The report also highlights the vulnerability of Christian and Hindu girls facing abduction, forced marriage and conversion, often exacerbated by poverty and poor police responses. Effective enforcement, access to legal assistance and safeguards against coercion are essential to making these protections meaningful. Meanwhile, discrimination against other minority groups, including restrictions on religious expression and assembly, raises serious questions about equal citizenship. Employment practices that disproportionately confine minorities to sanitation work, exclusionary school curricula and inadequate representation in mainstream media further entrench marginalisation and prejudice.
The government must translate the report’s recommendations into concrete action. Minority places of worship must be protected, discriminatory recruitment practices addressed, and educational curricula reviewed to promote tolerance and pluralism. The proposed National Commission for Minorities must be constituted and empowered to monitor implementation and hold relevant authorities accountable. The state must also ensure that administrative and law-enforcement decisions are not distorted by pressure from extremist groups or other influential actors.
The measure of a democratic society lies not simply in the rights it guarantees on paper but in its ability to protect every citizen’s dignity, security and freedoms. As former HRCP chairperson Hina Jilani aptly observed at the report’s launch, democracy should have no concept of minority and majority. This principle must extend beyond rhetoric to shape public policy, institutional conduct and social attitudes, ensuring that religious identity does not determine the protection, opportunities and justice a citizen receives.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026