The constitution establishes Islam as the state
religion and it requires that laws be consistent with
Islam. The constitution states that "subject to law,
public order, and morality, every citizen shall have the
right to profess, practice, and propagate his religion;"
in practice however, the government limited freedom of
religion. Freedom of speech was also constitutionally
"subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by
law in the interest of the glory of Islam."
Despite the government's steps to protect religious
minorities, the number and severity of reported
high-profile cases against minorities increased during the
reporting period. Organized violence against minorities
increased; for example, there was violence against
Christians in Gojra, Punjab, and a terrorist attack on
Ahmadis in Lahore, Punjab. There were instances in which
law enforcement personnel abused religious minorities in
custody. Security forces and other government agencies did
not adequately prevent or address societal abuse against
minorities. Discriminatory legislation and the
government's failure or delay in addressing religious
hostility by societal actors fostered religious
intolerance, acts of violence, and intimidation against
religious minorities. Specific laws that discriminated
against religious minorities included the anti-Ahmadi
provisions of the penal code and the blasphemy laws which
provided the death penalty for defiling Islam or its
prophets. The Ahmadiyya community continued to face
governmental and societal discrimination and legal bars to
the practice of its religious beliefs. Members of other
Islamic sects, Christians, Sikhs, and Hindus also reported
governmental and societal discrimination.
Relations between religious communities remained tense.
Societal discrimination against religious minorities was
widespread, and societal violence against such groups
occurred. Nongovernmental actors, including terrorist and
extremist groups and individuals, targeted religious
congregations. A domestic insurgency led by religious
militants increased acts of violence and intimidation
against religious minorities and exacerbated existing
sectarian tensions. Extremists demanded that all citizens
follow a strict version of Islam and threatened brutal
consequences if they did not abide by it. Extremists also
targeted violence against Muslims advocating for tolerance
and pluralism, including followers of Sufism.
The U.S. government discusses religious freedom with
the government as part of its overall policy to promote
human rights. During the reporting period, U.S. embassy
officials closely monitored the treatment of religious
minorities, worked to eliminate the teaching of religious
intolerance, and encouraged the amendment or repeal of the
blasphemy laws.
Section I.
Religious Demography
The country has an area of 310,527 square miles and a
population of 174 million. Approximately 95 percent of the
population is Muslim (75 percent Sunni, 25 percent Shia).
Groups composing 5 percent of the population or less
include Hindus, Christians, Parsis/Zoroastrians, Baha'is,
Sikhs, Buddhists, Ahmadis, and others. According to the
Ministry for Minorities Affairs, Sikhs have approximately
30,000 adherents and Buddhists 20,000. According to a
Parsi community center in Karachi, the number of Parsis (Zoroastrians)
dropped to 1,750 in 2010 as compared to 2,039 in June
2006. The Baha'i claimed that the number of Baha'is is
growing, with approximately 30,000 adherents. The number
of Ahmadis living in the country, according to
Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya, is nearly 600,000, although it is
difficult to establish an accurate estimate because
Ahmadis, who are legally prohibited from identifying
themselves as Muslims, generally choose not to identify
themselves as non-Muslims. Some tribes in Balochistan and
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPk) (formerly known as the North West
Frontier Province) practiced traditional animist religious
beliefs; other religious groups include Kalasha, Kihals,
and Jains. Less than 0.5 percent of the population, as
recorded in the 1998 census, was silent on religious
affiliation or claimed not to adhere to a particular
religious group. Social pressure was such that few persons
claimed no religious affiliation.
No data were available on active participation in
formal religious services or rituals; however, religious
beliefs often played an important part in daily life. Most
Muslims offered prayers on Fridays (Islam's holy day) and
many prayed daily. During the month of Ramadan, even less
observant Muslims fasted and attended services.
Approximately 70 percent of English-speaking Roman
Catholics worshiped regularly; a much lower percentage of
Urdu-speaking Catholics did so. Attendance at Hindu and
Sikh religious services increased during festivals.
Section II. Status
of Government Respect for Religious Freedom
Legal/Policy
Framework
The constitution establishes Islam as the state
religion. It also declares that adequate provisions shall
be made for minorities to profess and practice their
religious beliefs freely; however, the government imposes
limits on freedom of religion, particularly on Ahmadis.
Religious parties opposed any amendments to the
constitution affecting its Islamic clauses, especially the
ones relating to Ahmadis. In April 2010 the 18th Amendment
to the constitution was passed without amending
constitutional clauses affecting minorities, including
blasphemy and Ahmadi-specific laws.
Freedom of speech was subject to "reasonable"
restrictions in the interest of the "glory of
Islam," as stipulated in sections 295(a), (b), and
(c) of the penal code. The consequences for contravening
the country's blasphemy laws were death for defiling Islam
or its prophets; life imprisonment for defiling, damaging,
or desecrating the Qur'an; and 10 years' imprisonment for
insulting "another's religious feelings." Some
individuals brought charges under these laws to settle
personal scores or to intimidate vulnerable Muslims,
sectarian opponents, and religious minorities. Under the
Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), any action, including speech,
intended to incite religious hatred was punishable by up
to seven years' imprisonment. In cases in which a minority
group claimed its religious feelings were insulted, the
blasphemy laws were rarely enforced, and cases were rarely
brought to the legal system. A 2005 law required that a
senior police official investigate any blasphemy charge
before a complaint was filed. This law was not uniformly
enforced.
Laws prohibiting blasphemy continued to be used against
Christians, Ahmadis, and members of other religious groups,
including Muslims. Lower courts often did not require
adequate evidence in blasphemy cases, which led to some
accused and convicted persons spending years in jail
before higher courts eventually overturned their
convictions or ordered them freed. Original trial courts
usually denied bail in blasphemy cases, claiming that
because defendants could face the death penalty, they were
likely to flee; however, the state has never executed
anyone under the blasphemy laws. Many defendants appealed
the denial of bail, but bail often was not granted in
advance of the trial. Lower courts frequently delayed
decisions, experienced intimidation, and refused bail for
fear of reprisal from extremist elements.
The penal code incorporates a number of Islamic law (Shari'a)
provisions. The judicial system encompasses several
different court systems with overlapping and sometimes
competing jurisdictions that reflect differences in civil,
criminal, and Islamic jurisprudence. The Federal Shariat
Court and the Shari'a bench of the Supreme Court served as
appellate courts for certain convictions in criminal court
under the Hudood Ordinance, which criminalizes rape,
extramarital sex, property crimes, alcohol, and gambling;
judges and attorneys in these courts must be Muslim. A
2005 Supreme Court ruling allows the full Supreme Court to
bypass the Shari'a bench and assume jurisdiction in such
appellate cases in its own right and prohibits the Federal
Shariat Court from reviewing decisions of the provincial
high courts. The Federal Shariat Court may overturn
legislation it judges inconsistent with Islamic tenets,
but such cases can be appealed to the Shari'a bench of the
Supreme Court and ultimately may be heard by the full
Supreme Court. The Federal Shariat Court applies to
Muslims and non-Muslims, such as in cases relating to
Hudood laws. Non-Muslims were allowed to consult the
Federal Shariat Court in matters which affected them or
violated their rights.
Criminal law allowed offenders to offer monetary
restitution to victims and allowed victims to carry out
physical retribution rather than seeking punishment
through the court system. The "Qisaas and Diyat"
law calls for either providing retribution for murder and
other violent crimes (qisaas) or compensation money to the
victim of the crime (diyat). Religious minorities claimed
that the amounts of monetary restitution were far higher
for minority offenders and far lower for minority victims
than for Muslims.
Under Shari'a Hudood referred to punishments for
certain crimes such as theft, fornication, consumption of
alcohol, and apostasy. The country's Hudood Ordinance
often relied on harsh and discriminatory interpretations
of Qur'anic standards of evidence and punishment that
applied equally to Muslims and non-Muslims. If Qur'anic
standards were used, Muslim and non-Muslim and male and
female testimony carried different weight. Until the
passage of the 2006 Protection of Women (Criminal Laws
Amendment) Act, cases of rape and adultery were also heard
under the Hudood Ordinance, which led to numerous abuses
against women. The 2006 law moved these cases to secular
rather than Shari'a courts; thousands of women have now
been released from jail, although social ostracism
continued in some cases.
The government designated religious affiliation on
passports and requested religious information in national
identity card applications. A citizen must have a national
identity card to vote. Those wishing to be listed as
Muslims must swear their belief that the Prophet Muhammad
is the final prophet and denounce the Ahmadiyya movement's
founder as a false prophet and his followers as
non-Muslims, a provision designed to discriminate against
Ahmadis. As a result Ahmadis continued to boycott
elections.
The constitution provides for "freedom to manage
religious institutions." In principle the government
does not restrict organized religious groups from
establishing places of worship and training members of the
clergy; however, in practice religious minorities suffered
from restrictions of this right. District-level
authorities consistently refused to grant permission to
construct non-Muslim places of worship, especially for
Ahmadiyya and Baha'i communities, citing the need to
maintain public order. There were instances of minority
places of worship being seized by land mafias or being
illegally sold by government authorities. There is no
official restriction on the construction of Ahmadiyya
places of worship; however, Ahmadis were forbidden from
calling them mosques. Ahmadis also reported that their
mosques and community land were routinely confiscated by
local governments and given to the majority Muslim
community. District governments often refused to grant
Ahmadis permission to hold events publicly; therefore,
they held their meetings in members' homes. The government
can shut down these gatherings if neighbors reported
hearing the recitation of Qur'anic verses.
Representatives of the Sikh community in Punjab and
Sindh reported the illegal sale of gurdwara lands by the
Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB). In April 2010 it was
disclosed that the ETPB transferred approximately 72 acres
(574 kanals) of gurdwara land in Lahore to the Defence
Housing Authority. Despite protests by the Sikh community,
the ETPB continued its plan to sell gurdwara land, which
was not allowed under the 1925 Sikh Act. Similarly,
Christian leaders in Sindh opposed a proposed sale of
Saint Andrews Church in Karachi.
The government provided funding for construction and
maintenance of mosques and for Islamic clergy. The
provincial and federal governments have legal
responsibility for certain religious properties belonging
to minority communities that were abandoned during the
1947 partition of the country and India. Minority
communities claimed the government did not spend adequate
funds on the protection and upkeep of those properties.
The government collected a 2.5 percent zakat (tax) on all
Sunni Muslims and distributed the funds to Sunni mosques,
madrassahs, and charities. The government did not impose
similar requirements on other religious groups.
Government policies did not afford equal protection to
members of majority and minority religious groups.
Religious minorities were legally restricted from public
display of certain religious images and, due to
discriminatory legislation and social pressure, were often
afraid to profess freely their religious beliefs. The 2008
establishment of the Ministry for Minority Affairs removed
responsibility for protection of religious minorities from
the Ministry of Religious Affairs. The Ministry of
Minority Affairs, a stand-alone, cabinet level ministry
that has the "aim to protect the rights of minorities
as envisaged under the 1973 constitution of Pakistan"
is headed by Shahbaz Bhatti, a Roman Catholic. The
Ministry for Minority Affairs' budget covers assistance to
indigent minorities, the repair of minority places of
worship, the establishment of minority-run small
development projects, and the celebration of minority
religious festivals. These expenses were previously
covered by the Ministry of Religious Affairs. Religious
minorities claimed that the Ministry for Minority Affairs
is underfunded and that localities and villages that were
home to minority citizens went without basic civic
amenities.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs, Zakat, and Ushr was
primarily responsible for organizing participation in the
Hajj and other Islamic religious pilgrimages. The federal
government, however, also consults the ministry on matters
such as blasphemy and educational reforms. The ministry
organized events aimed at promoting peace and religious
tolerance and also carried out research on these subjects.
In June 2010 the ministry reconstituted the Sufi Advisory
Council as the National Sufi Council with the objective of
promoting free religious thought and the establishment of
Sufi Centers and research activities on Sufi Islamic
thought.
The government observed Islamic holy days as national
holidays.
The government, at its most senior levels, continued to
call for interfaith dialogue and sectarian harmony to
promote moderation, tolerance, and minority rights.
The constitution safeguards "educational
institutions with respect to religion." No student
can be forced to receive religious instruction or
participate in religious worship other than his or her own.
The denial of religious instruction for students of any
religious community or denomination was also prohibited.
Islamiyyat (Islamic studies) was compulsory for all
Muslim students in state-run schools. Although students of
other religious groups were not legally required to study
Islam, they were generally not offered parallel studies in
their own religious beliefs. In some schools non-Muslim
students may study Akhlaqiyyat, or Ethics. Parents may
send children to religious schools, at the family's
expense, and private schools were generally free to teach
or not to teach religious studies as they choose.
Madrassahs, private schools run by Islamic groups, were
prohibited from teaching sectarian or religious hatred or
encouraging sectarian or religious violence, although some
did.
The constitution specifically prohibited discriminatory
admission to any governmental educational institution
solely based on religious affiliation. Government
officials stated that the only factors affecting admission
to government educational institutions were students'
grades and home provinces; however, students must declare
their religious affiliation on application forms. This
declaration was also required for private educational
institutions, including universities. Students who
identified themselves as Muslim must declare in writing
that they believe that the Prophet Muhammad is the final
prophet, another measure that singled out Ahmadis.
Non-Muslims must have their religious affiliation verified
by the head of their local religious community.
Private schools run by Islamic clerics or madrassahs
varied greatly in their curriculum and character. They may
offer after-school nondegree Islamic religious instruction,
a full degree course in Islamic religious studies based on
degree parameters set by one of the country's five
madrassah boards, a full degree course in regular studies
based either on the government's matriculation standards
or the British A level curriculum, certificate courses in
vocational training, or some combination thereof.
Madrassahs may have students on a part-time, full-time day,
full boarding basis, or some combination thereof. In some
rural communities, madrassahs were the only form of
education available.
In recent years a small, yet influential, number of
madrassahs have, in violation of the law, taught extremist
doctrine in support of terrorism. In an attempt to curb
the spread of extremism, the 2002 Madrassah Registration
Ordinance required all madrassahs to register with one of
the five independent boards (wafaqs) or directly with the
government, cease accepting foreign financing, and accept
foreign students only with the consent of their government.
According to the Ministry of Religious Affairs, as of June
2010, 19,104 madrassahs had been registered. Of these 770
madrassahs were registered in 2009 alone; however, many
civil society organizations and education experts disputed
the number of madrassahs operating across the country.
A 2005 framework for cooperative registration of
madrassahs, including provision of financial and
educational data and expanded oversight of the prohibition
on the teaching of sectarian or religious hatred and
violence, remained stalled due to political upheaval and
jurisdictional battles within the previous government. The
government and the independent madrassah boards had agreed
to a phased introduction to all madrassahs offering
full-time education of secular subjects, including
mathematics, English, and science. The civilian government
considered madrassah reform a priority but has made little
progress in this regard. Officials at the Ministry of
Religious Affairs cited a lack of funds as an obstacle to
attaining the goal of madrassah reforms. They claimed that,
at present, the government does not have any funds to
carry out the plan, although in the past three years
secular subjects were introduced in some madrassahs
through government support.
The government announced, but has not approved, a
uniform curriculum for madrassahs, with a more secular
tone. The Secretary General of the Deobandi Madrassah
Board (the Wafaq-ul-Madaris-al-Arabiyya), Maulana Mohammad
Hanif Jalandhri, opposed this policy in April 2009 stating
that no interference by the government would be tolerated
and no revision of madrassah curriculum would be accepted
without consultation and approval of the five sectarian
boards.
All wafaqs continued to mandate the elimination of
teaching that promoted religious or sectarian intolerance
and terrorist or extremist recruitment at madrassahs.
Inspectors from the boards mandated that affiliated
madrassahs with full-time students supplement religious
studies with secular subjects. Wafaqs also restricted
foreign private funding of madrassahs. A comparatively
small, yet influential, number of unregistered and
Deobandi-controlled madrassahs continued to teach
extremism and/or allow recruitment of their students by
terrorist organizations. Similarly, the Dawa schools, run
by Jamaat-ud-Dawa, a charitable front for the banned
Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, continued such teaching and recruitment
for Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, a designated foreign terrorist
organization. Following the November 2008 terrorist
attacks in Mumbai, India, attributed to Lashkar-e-Tayyiba,
the Punjab provincial government took over management of
several Jamaat-ud-Dawa institutions.
In an effort to end Taliban violence in the Swat valley,
the KPk government, led by the Awami National Party (ANP),
concluded a peace deal in February 2009 with extremist
organization Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM)
that included a commitment to implement the Nizam-e-Adl
Regulation (NAR) in the Malakand division of the KPk. In
April 2009 President Asif Ali Zardari signed the NAR,
making it effective. Based on previous attempts in 1994
and 1998 to establish Shari'a (interpreted locally as
"swift justice"), the NAR established limits for
deciding civil and criminal cases, recreated qazi (religious
judges) chosen by the state, and established a local
appeals court whose judges were selected by the Peshawar
High Court. Civil society in general and the minority
religious community in particular expressed concern about
the effects of creating an alternative religious-based
system of justice in Swat. NAR defenders pointed out that,
under the constitution, all laws must already conform to
Islam. In this respect, they said, the NAR was not a new
regulation.
The deal was signed with the expectation that local
militants would disarm in return for the implementation of
Shari'a through the NAR. After the President signed the
NAR, however, the militants refused to disarm and extended
their patrols to Buner District of the Malakand Division.
Amid growing incidents of violence by the militants, the
army launched a military operation on April 26, 2009,
resulting in the largest mass migration in the country's
history since partition and clearing much of the territory
claimed by the Taliban. The NAR has been inoperative since
the start of military operations in April 2009. At the end
of the reporting period, military operations were ongoing
in the FATA and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
The government does not restrict religious publishing
in general; however, the sale of Ahmadi religious
literature was banned. The law prohibited publishing any
criticism of Islam or its prophets or insults to another's
religious beliefs.
The government does not prohibit, restrict, or punish
parents for raising children in accordance with religious
teachings and practices of their choice, nor did it take
steps to prevent parents from teaching their children
religious instruction in the privacy of the home.
There were no legal requirements for an individual to
practice or affiliate nominally with a religious group;
however, the constitution required that the president and
prime minister be Muslims. All senior officials, including
members of parliament, must swear an oath to protect the
country's Islamic identity. Government employees were not
prohibited from displaying or practicing any elements of
their religious beliefs.
Missionaries (except Ahmadis) were permitted in the
country and can proselytize, as long as there is no
preaching against Islam and the missionaries acknowledge
they are not Muslim. Missionaries were required to have
specific visas valid from two to five years and are
allowed one entry into the country per year. Only "replacement"
visas for those taking the place of departing missionaries
were available, and long delays and bureaucratic problems
were common.
In accordance with the Anti-Terrorism Act, the
government banned activities of and membership in several
religious extremist and terrorist groups. The act allowed
the government to use special streamlined courts to try
violent crimes, terrorist activities, acts or speech
designed to foment religious hatred, and crimes against
the state; however, many banned groups remained active.
The government does not recognize either civil or
common law marriage. Marriages were performed and
registered according to one's religious group. The
marriages of non-Muslim men remained legal upon conversion
to Islam. If a non-Muslim female converted to Islam, and
her marriage was performed according to her previous
religious beliefs, the marriage was considered dissolved.
Children born to Hindu or Christian women who converted to
Islam after marriage were considered illegitimate unless
their husbands also converted. The only way the marriage
can be legitimated and the children made eligible for
inheritance was for the husband to convert to Islam. The
children of a Muslim man and a Muslim woman who both
converted to another religious group were considered
illegitimate, and the government can take custody of the
children. The registration of Hindu and Sikh marriages has
been a long-standing demand of these communities. In May
2009 the Scheduled Caste Rights Movement (SCRM) demanded
legislation for Hindu marriage registration during a
seminar in Islamabad. The minorities' representatives were
of the view that in the absence of Hindu and Sikh marriage
registration, women faced difficulties in getting a share
of their parents' and husbands' property, accessing health
services, voting, obtaining a passport, and buying or
selling property.
The government did not restrict the formation of
political parties based on a particular religious group,
religious belief, or interpretation of religious doctrine.
The government monitored the activities of various
Islamist parties and affiliated clergy due to prior links
to terrorist and extremist organizations. There were
reserved seats for religious minority members in both the
national and provincial assemblies. The seats were
allocated to the political parties on a proportional basis
determined by their overall representation in the assembly.
The national assembly has 13 members of minority religious
groups, 10 of whom hold reserved seats for minorities and
three of whom hold reserved seats for women. As part of
the 18th Amendment, the senate now has four reserved seats
for religious minorities, one from each province. Reserved
seats for minorities also existed in the provincial
assemblies: three in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, eight in Punjab,
nine in Sindh, and three in Balochistan. Minorities were
represented in the local government system with a minimum
of one seat per zila, tehsil, and union council, as
stipulated under the provincial Local Government
Ordinances. In 2010 Balochistan passed the Local
Government Act which, according to its language,
implements a policy of religious minority representation
based on population, with a minimum of two seats.
Restrictions on
Religious Freedom
The government
generally enforced existing legal restrictions on
religious freedom.
Although the constitution provides for freedom of
assembly, Ahmadis have been prohibited from holding
conferences or gatherings since 1983. They were also
banned from preaching and from traveling to Saudi Arabia
for the Hajj or other religious pilgrimages. Ahmadiyya
publications were also banned from public sale, but they
published religious literature, circulated only within
Ahmadi communities.
The constitution provides for the right to establish
places of worship and train clergy, but in practice these
rights were restricted for Ahmadis. Authorities continued
to conduct surveillance on Ahmadis, and several Ahmadiyya
mosques reportedly were closed or confiscated; others
reportedly were desecrated or their construction stopped.
Public pressure routinely prevented courts from
protecting minority rights and forced judges to take
strong action against any perceived offense to Sunni
orthodoxy. Discrimination charges against religious
minorities were rarely brought before the judiciary.
According to several NGOs, cases against Christians and
Ahmadis continued to increase during the reporting period.
Lower courts were frequently subjected to intimidation,
delayed issuing decisions, and refused bail for fear of
reprisal from extremist elements. Original trial courts
usually denied bail in blasphemy cases, arguing that
defendants facing the death penalty were likely to flee.
As with the majority of cases in the country, many
defendants appealed the denial of bail, but bail was often
not granted in advance of the trial.
There were no reports of district governments
restricting the distribution and display of certain
religious images, . Such images were openly displayed and
sold in Christian communities. Foreign books must pass
government censors before being reprinted. Books and
magazines were imported freely but were subject to
censorship for objectionable sexual or religious content.
Sacred books for religious minorities, except Ahmadis,
were freely imported. Hindus faced some difficulty in
importing books from India. Other groups did not face
hardship in obtaining religious materials although
availability may be limited to some specific bookstores or
religious centers.
Religious belief or specific adherence to a religious
group was not required for membership in the ruling party
or the moderate opposition parties. All political parties,
including religious parties, had a separate minority wing,
and some of the religious parties gave seats to religious
minorities in provincial assemblies after the 2008 general
elections.
The government sometimes funded and facilitated Hajj
travel but had no similar program for pilgrimages by
religious minorities. Due to the passport requirements to
list religious affiliation and denounce the Ahmadi prophet,
Ahmadis were restricted from going on the Hajj because
they were unable to declare themselves as Muslims. Because
the government does not recognize Israel, religious
believers regardless of religious affiliation were unable
to travel to Israel on pilgrimage. This especially
affected Baha'is, since the Baha'i World Centre, the
spiritual and administrative heart of the community, was
located in northern Israel.
Discrimination against Hindus, Sikhs, and Ahmadis in
admission to higher education institutions persisted.
There were no reports of discrimination against Christians
when they applied for entry to universities and medical
schools. Shi'a leaders did not report that they were
subjected to discrimination in hiring for the civil
service or admission to government institutions of higher
learning. Sikh leaders reported they faced restrictions in
securing admissions at college and university level as
they were required to obtain a certificate of permission
from the Evacuee Trust Property Board, which they said was
a lengthy process that discouraged Sikhs from pursuing
higher education.
Promotions for all minority groups appeared limited
within the civil service. These problems were particularly
acute for Ahmadis, who contended that a "glass
ceiling" prevented their promotion to senior
positions, and certain government departments refused to
hire or retain qualified Ahmadis. The government
discriminated against some groups, such as Ahl-e-Hadith
and Barelvi, in hiring clergy for government mosques and
the military and faculty members for Islamic studies
positions in government colleges.
Members of minority religious groups volunteered for
military service in small numbers, and there were no
official obstacles to their advancement; however, in
practice non-Muslims rarely rose above the rank of colonel
and were not assigned to politically sensitive positions.
A chaplaincy corps provided services for Muslim soldiers,
but no similar services were available for religious
minorities.
The public school curriculum included derogatory
remarks in textbooks against minority religious groups,
particularly Ahmadis, Hindus, and Jews, and the teaching
of religious intolerance was widespread. The government
continued to revise the curriculum to eliminate such
teachings and remove Islamic overtones from secular
subjects.
Officials used bureaucratic demands and bribes to delay
religious groups trying to build houses of worship or
obtain land. Although Ahmadis were often prevented from
building houses of worship, Sunni Muslim groups built
mosques and shrines without government permission, at
times in violation of zoning ordinances and on
government-owned lands without repercussions.
Abuses of
Religious Freedom
Police reportedly tortured and mistreated those in
custody on religious charges and were accused of at least
one extrajudicial killing in a blasphemy case. For example,
on September 16, 2009, a young Christian man, Robert
Fanish, who had been accused of blasphemy, died while in
police custody. The case prompted widespread media
attention, and several human rights groups asserted that
he had been killed extrajudicially. Christian and
Ahmadiyya communities claimed their members were more
likely to be abused. Non-Muslim prisoners generally were
accorded poorer facilities than Muslim inmates.
According to the National Commission for Justice and
Peace (NCJP), in 2009 112 cases were registered under the
blasphemy laws. Of the 112 persons, 57 were identified as
Ahmadis, 47 Muslims, and eight Christians. A total of
1,032 persons have been charged under the blasphemy laws
between 1987 and 2009.
Ahmadiyya leaders claimed the government used sections
of the penal code against their members for religious
reasons. The government used anti-Ahmadi laws to target
and harass Ahmadis and often accused converts to the
Ahmadiyya community of blasphemy, violations of
anti-Ahmadi laws, or other crimes. The vague wording of
the provision that forbids Ahmadis from directly or
indirectly identifying themselves as Muslims enabled
officials to bring charges against Ahmadis for using the
standard Muslim greeting and for naming their children
Muhammad. According to the Rabwah-based Jamaat-e-Ahmidaya,
as of June 2010 42 Ahmadis faced criminal charges under
Ahmadi-specific laws or blasphemy laws, and 25 Ahmadis
faced false charges under other sections of the penal
code.
According to Ahmadiyya leaders, at the end of the
reporting period, six Ahmadis were in prison; one was
facing life imprisonment, three were facing death
sentences, and two were incarcerated on charges of
preaching. The Ahmadiyya community claimed the arrests
were groundless and based on the detainees' religious
beliefs. Several criminal cases, ranging from killings to
destruction of property, were filed against prominent
members of the Ahmadiyya community during the reporting
period. The cases remained unprosecuted, and the accused
were allowed to post bail.
Authorities routinely used blasphemy laws to harass
religious minorities and vulnerable Muslims and to settle
personal scores or business rivalries. Authorities
detained and convicted individuals on spurious charges.
Judges and magistrates, seeking to avoid confrontation
with or violence from extremists, often continued trials
indefinitely.
The government did not subject individuals to forced
labor or enslavement based on religious beliefs; however,
minority community leaders charged that the government
failed to take adequate action to prevent bonded labor in
the brick-making and agricultural sectors. Christians and
Hindus were disproportionately victims of this illegal
practice.
As a result of militant persecution against religious
minorities in the FATA and Malakand Division and ensuing
military operations against the militants, thousands of
people including hundreds of Sikh families left the
affected areas and took shelter in other parts of the
country. The government provided relief to Sikh internally
displaced persons. By the end of the reporting period,
most had returned to their homes.
In contrast to the previous reporting period, there
were no reports of members of the Sikh community being
forced to pay jizya (non-Muslim tax).
In June 2010 militants blew up the shrine of Mian Umar
Baba in the Chamkani area of Peshawar. Police registered a
case; however, no arrests were made by the end of the
reporting period. This was the first attack on any shrine
in Peshawar since March 5, 2009, when militants attacked
the shrine of popular Pashtun poet Rehman Baba.
Unknown terrorists attacked two separate Ahmadi
congregations in Lahore during Friday prayers on May 28,
2010. The attackers used explosive devices, grenades, and
automatic weapons. More than 86 persons died and 124
persons were injured. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz
Sharif, President Zardari, and Prime Minister Gilani
condemned the attack ordered an immediate inquiry. The
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) issued a
statement on May 28 condemning the attack and criticizing
the government for failing to increase security at Ahmadi
places of worship in light of terrorist threats against
the Ahmadiyya community. The HRCP called on the government
to provide foolproof security for the Ahmadiyya community.
According to International Christian Concern (ICC), on
May 16, 2010, approximately 40 Muslim militants assaulted
the Christian Abundant Life Church in Karachi. The armed
militants threatened to kill the Christians in the Saifal
Marree Goth Surjani area, where the church is located.
After the militants left, the pastor approached the
Surjani police station to inform them about the attack and
threats; however, the police filed a report against four
Christians for threatening Tariq Muhammad, a Muslim
convert from Christianity who led the militant group and
formulated the plan to demolish the church and build a
mosque. At the end of the reporting period, the four
Christians were in hiding.
According to Compass Direct News (CDN), in May 2010
police illegally detained three Christians, Atif Masih,
Kamran Masih, and Naveed Gill, on false charges of alcohol
possession in Sialkot, Punjab, at the request of their
Muslim employer, Rana Ejaz, after refusing to work on
Sundays.
According to CDN, in May 2010 Zafar Masih, a Christian,
fled his town in Punjab, after accusing Ali Ahmed, a
28-year-old businessman, of beating and raping his
12-year-old daughter on May 12. CDN claims that Masih
attempted to file a First Information Report against Ahmed
at the Tatlay Aali police station, but Station House
Officer (SHO) Iqbal Ojjhra refused to accept it , and then
allegedly pressured Masih to withdraw the application.
Masih has since been threatened by Imtiyaz Kharral, a
local politician and the area's largest land owner. On May
13 Kharral called a meeting at his farmhouse with SHO
Ojjhra, local Muslims, police officers, Masih and his
family, and the other Christian families of the town.
Kharral allegedly gave the Christians two options: Masih
could drop his charges or the Christians could relocate
elsewhere.
On May 6, 2010, according to Assist News Service, at
least five Christian boys, including Shoaib Ilyas, Chaman
Ashraf, Ashar Masih, Neeta Masih, and Sunny, were forced
to leave their homes in Lahore after being accused of
committing blasphemy by desecrating a banner inscribed
with Qur'anic verses. The whereabouts of the boys remained
unknown at the end of the reporting period.
On April 1, 2010, unidentified militants in Faisalabad
attacked a car carrying three Ahmadi men, fired multiple
shots, killed brothers 60-year-old Sheikh Ashraf Parvez
and 57-year-old Sheikh Masood Jawad, and Jawad's
24-year-old son Asif Masood. There were reports that
victims had been previously threatened because of their
religious affiliation.
According to CDN on March 28, 2010, police filed false
charges of alcohol possession against 47 Christians,
including two children and eight women, in an attempt to
intimidate and extort money from them. CDN reported that
police broke into the home of Shaukat Masih and his wife,
Parveen Bibi, ransacked the home and assaulted Bibi, and
threatened to charge them and 45 other Christians with
alcohol possession if they did not pay a bribe. They
refused to pay.
According to ICC in March 2010 Qamar David, a Christian
man, was sentenced to life imprisonment and fined 101,000
rupees (approximately $1,187) for making blasphemous
remarks about the Qur'an and the Prophet Mohammad.
According to Assist News Service, on March 2, 2010,
Munir Masih and Ruqqiya Bibi, a Christian couple, were
sentenced to 25 years in prison for defiling the Qur'an
after touching it with unwashed hands.
According to Assist News Service, on March 1, 2010, in
Wandu, a village in Gujranawala District of Punjab, Gulzar
Kanwal, a 34-year-old Christian woman, was accused of
blasphemy by a shop owner after she refused to sell him
her cosmetics shop. As word spread of the accusations, an
angry mob of hundreds of local Muslims gathered in front
of Kanwal's shop, shouting slogans against her. Although
Kanwal was found to be not guilty of blasphemy, she
received death threats.
On February 27, 2010, seven people were killed and
another 44 injured in Dera Ismail Khan and Faisalabad
during religious processions celebrating Eid Miladun Nabi.
The violence was attributed to sectarian clashes between
Deobandi, Ahl-e-Hadith, and Barelvi groups.
On January 14, 2010, authorities in Ahmad Nagar
confiscated an Ahmadiyya mosque and transferred it to
non-Ahmadi Muslims on the grounds of "preempting the
extreme law and order disturbance" when extremist
religious elements threatened to take over the mosque by
force. The district coordination officer cited the
anti-Ahmadiyya constitutional amendment to justify his
actions.
In January 2010 militants in the Tirah valley of the
Orakzai Agency kidnapped three Sikhs and demanded a ransom
of 30 million rupees (approximately $351,600). The
militants killed one of the three, Jaspal Singh, on
February 21 when the ransom was not paid by the deadline.
Security forces secured the release of the other two men.
In January 2010 land belonging to Ahmadis in Rabwah was
confiscated and sold at public auction. The auction notice
contained a "Special Note" indicating that
neither Ahmadis nor their relatives could bid on the
property, and any land purchased could not be subsequently
sold to Ahmadis.
On December 27, 2009, a suicide bomber attacked a Shi'a
religious procession in Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu and
Kashmir, killing eight persons and injuring 80. There has
been no attribution of responsibility for the attack.
In September 2009 police instructed Ahmadi shopkeepers
of Green Town in Lahore to remove Qur'anic verses from
their shops to avoid being attacked by Muslim extremists.
Under the constitution Ahmadis were not permitted to
participate as members of the Muslim community. The
shopkeepers noted that the verses had been displayed on
their shops for many years and claimed that Sunni
shopkeepers had raised the issue with police due to
jealousy and business rivalries.
According to Pakistan Christian Post, on August 28,
2009, militants shot and killed six Christians and injured
seven others in Quetta, Balochistan.
On July 31, 2009, and August 1, 2009, Muslim mobs,
reportedly inspired by supporters of the banned
Sipah-e-Sahba Pakistan (SSP) sectarian extremist
organization, attacked the Christian communities living in
Gojra and Korian localities, near Toba Tek Singh, Punjab,
following allegations that local Christians had desecrated
the Qur'an. The mob killed eight Christians and burned
nearly 100 houses as police failed to stop the violence.
The national assembly adopted a unanimous resolution
condemning the Gojra killings, and the Punjab Minorities
Affairs Minister registered a case against the
participants. At the end of the reporting period, police
had arrested 42 individuals in connection with the Gojra
incident. Of those arrested 34 were released on bail and
eight were still in custody at Toba Tek Singh. In the
Korian case, police arrested 54 individuals, of whom 43
were released on bail and 11 remained in jail. The
provincial government initiated a program to construct new
houses for members of the Christian community who lost
their homes in the violence. The reconstruction program
was ongoing at the end of the reporting period.
On June 30, 2009, a fistfight erupted into an alleged
incident of blasphemy that sparked a mob attack on a
Christian community in the district of Kasur, Punjab,
prompting 700 persons to flee their homes. Federal
Minister for Minorities Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti offered
compensation to the affected families. There was no new
information on this case at the end of the reporting
period.
On June 23, 2009, CDN reported that police imprisoned
Arshad Masih, a Christian man from Gujranwala, in a
Sialkot jail and abused him in custody. Reportedly, police
abused Masih because his father was a Christian preacher.
Although he was officially charged with robbery, he was
later granted bail on the strength of testimony that he
was not among the robbers. Due to the physical abuse he
suffered in custody, he was sent to the Allama Iqbal
Memorial Hospital. According to CDN authorities allegedly
ordered him to be silent about the abuse. There was no
further information on this case by the end of the
reporting period.
In May 2009 two students of a seminary in Chakwal,
Punjab, entered the home of an Ahmadi, Mubashir Ahmed, and
tried to behead him. Neighbors intervened and saved his
life, but he was severely injured. One student was caught
and brought to a local police station, but the other
escaped. Police opened an investigation and were seeking
the other assailant. There was no new information on this
case by the end of the reporting period.
On April 17, 2009, authorities released Catholics James
Masih and Buta Masih from prison; they were convicted of
blasphemy and sentenced to 10 years in prison in November
2006 for allegedly burning a Qur'an.
On March 4, 2009, 15 Ahmadis were charged under Section
298c of the penal code for calling their place of worship
a mosque and for offering Eid prayers there. They were
also charged with posing as Muslims. According to reports
the arrests were the result of a business dispute. The
Ahmadis were released on bail, but the case is ongoing.
There was no new information on this case by the end of
the reporting period.
There was no new information on the January 2009
killing in Kotri, Sindh Province, of an Ahmadi shopkeeper,
Saeed Ahmed. At the time a spokesman for the Ahmadiyya
community claimed that Ahmed was killed because of his
faith.
In January 2009 police arrested four Ahmadi teenagers
and an adult in Layyah, Punjab, on charges of blasphemy.
Some local clerics reportedly attempted to incite violence
following the incident. The accused were released on bail
in November 2009; their case went to trial in December
2009 and remained ongoing at the end of the reporting
period.
In January 2009 police arrested Hector Aleem in
Rawalpindi on charges of sending a blasphemous text
message from his cell phone. After a hearing in an
antiterrorism court, Aleem, who is a member of an agency
that works for Christians' rights, was cleared of the
blasphemy charges, but not of abetting a crime. A
government official told CDN religious extremists heavily
influenced the decision telling the judge, "If you
release him (Aleem), then we will kill him outside."
At the end of the reporting period, the blasphemy charges
against Hector Aleem had been dropped, but he remained
jailed on charges of fraud and smuggling.
In September 2008 authorities arrested 10 Ahmadis under
Ahmadi-specific sections of the penal code. On October 11,
2008, eight more Ahmadis were added to the same case. All
individuals arrested were released on bail.
The Punjab provincial government permitted Muslim
religious leaders to hold an anti-Ahmadi conference in
Rabwah on September 7, 2008, on the anniversary of the
constitutional amendment that declared Ahmadis as
non-Muslims. During the conference panelists repeatedly
spoke of how Ahmadis were "Wajb-ul-Qatl" (liable
to death).
In 2008 an antiterrorism court acquitted five persons
who were arrested for the 2005 attack on Ahmadi
worshippers in Mandi Bahauddin, Punjab, that resulted in
killing eight and injuring 20 persons. There was no new
information on this incident by the end of the reporting
period.
There were no new developments in the case of Mohammad
Shafeeq Latif who was sentenced to death in 2008 for
blasphemy after he allegedly defiled the Qur'an and used
derogatory language to refer to the Prophet Mohammad. At
the end of the reporting period, he remained jailed in
Sialkot, Punjab.
The Ahmadis were released on bail, but the case was
ongoing.
There were no new developments in the May 2008 case
against Pastor Frank John, who was charged with blasphemy
as he was conducting a religious convention in Lahore,
Punjab.
In January 2008 police in Nankana Sahib, Punjab,
charged an Ahmadi businessman, Manzur Ahmed, with
destroying pages that included religious inscriptions. At
the end of the reporting period, he remained in jail.
Minority communities claimed the government was
complicit in seizures of their property by Muslims, and
that the policy of dismantling illegal slum settlements
disproportionately targeted minority communities. These
groups also accused the government of inaction in cases
where extremist groups attacked places of worship
belonging to minority groups.
Forced
Religious Conversion
Forced and coerced conversions of religious minorities
to Islam occurred at the hands of societal actors.
Religious minorities claimed government actions to stem
the problem were inadequate. The NCJP noted abductions and
forced conversions of Christians and Hindus were on the
rise. It reported that in December 2009, 20 Christians and
21 Hindus were forced to convert to Islam during the year,
of whom 15 were men, 13 women, and four children. In March
2010 the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan estimated
that as many as 20 to 25 girls from the Hindu community
were abducted every month and forcibly converted to Islam.
On May 19, 2010, a Christian girl who was kidnapped and
forced to convert to Islam was reunited with her family
after three years separation. Tina Barkat, now 28, was
kidnapped by the family of a friend, who, together with
her uncle, forced her to convert to Islam and marry one of
their relatives.
On December 21, 2009, a 15-year-old Hindu girl was
abducted by a Muslim neighbor from her home in Katchi
Mandi, Liaquatpur. Her parents later learned that she was
being held captive in a madrassah, and she had been forced
to convert to Islam and marry.
Abuses by Rebel or
Foreign Forces or Terrorist Organizations
There were several incidents involving the abuse of
religious groups by individuals or organizations
designated as terrorist organizations by the U.S.
Secretary of State under Section 219 of the Immigration
and Nationality Act and by armed sectarian extremist
groups with strong links to such organizations.
Sectarian violence continued in different parts of the
country during the reporting period, with attacks on the
Shi'a minority, particularly in Dera Ismail Khan, Quetta,
Hangu, Kohat, Tank, DG Khan, Gilgit, and Kurram and
Orakzai Agencies. Throughout the reporting period, attacks,
threats, and violence by Islamic extremists occurred
across the country, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Attacks on houses of worship, religious gatherings, and
religious leaders linked to sectarian, religious extremist,
and terrorist groups resulted in hundreds of deaths during
the reporting period. Sectarian violence between Sunni and
Shi'a extremists continued during the reporting period,
and several religious minority individuals and communities
were the targets of religious violence across the country.
Examples of these cases include the following:
On February 20, 2010, members of the Sipah-e-Sahaba
anti-Shi'a extremist organization, disguised among
Deobandi protestors, fired upon a Brailvi religious
procession in Faisalabad. This caused a riot in which
protestors set fire to a police station and the home,
mosque, and madrassah of a leading Deobandi cleric. The
violence left one person dead and 20 injured.
In January 2010 militants blew up six shrines and
exhumed the body of a spiritual leader in Stori Khel area
of Orakzai Agency. Locals said heavily armed militants
came to the area of the Stori Khel tribe and dug up the
grave of spiritual leader Anwarul Haq. They desecrated the
remains and then took them to an unknown location.
On December 27, 2009, a roadside bomb exploded near a
Shi'a religious procession in Karachi. At least 26 persons
were injured. The bombing was attributed to the terrorist
group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. On December 29, 2009, a suicide
bomber attacked a second Shi'a religious procession in
Karachi, killing 25 persons and injuring more than 50.
Following the attack, protestors rioted, destroying
private businesses and government property. This attack
was also attributed to the terrorist group
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.
On September 2, 2009, two unidentified gunmen attacked
the convoy of Religious Affairs Minister Hamid Seed Kazmi,
killing Kazmi's bodyguard and shooting the minister in the
leg. Minister Kazmi is a prominent Brailvi religious
scholar and a vocal critic of the Taliban. Brailvi leaders
blamed Taliban insurgents for the attack.
Targeted assassinations of clergy remained a key tactic
of several groups, including banned sectarian organization
Sipah-i-Sahaba (SSP), terrorist organization
Lashkar-i-Jhangvi (LJ), and Sipah-i-Mohammad Pakistan (SMP).
SSP and LJ targeted both Shi'a and Barelvis, whereas SMP
targeted Deobandis.
Improvements and Positive Developments in Respect for
Religious Freedom
The government took steps to bolster religious freedom
during the reporting period.
As part of the 18th Amendment, the government allocated
four reserved seats for religious minorities, one from
each province, in the senate. Minority groups welcomed the
move.
Minority prisoners were given places to worship inside
jails, and the government provided additional security to
minorities as they observed and celebrated their holy days.
After the attacks on Christians in Gojra and Korian in
July and August 2009, the National Assembly's Standing
Committee on Minorities formed a subcommittee specifically
to review blasphemy laws and prepare recommendations for
changes. The subcommittee, headed by MNA Nafisa Shah, held
several consultations with representatives of religious
minorities and human rights activists and discussed
options on how the damaging effects of the blasphemy laws
could be eliminated.
During the reporting period Sindh provincial police
freed over 1,500 bonded laborers, a majority of whom were
Hindu.
According to ICC, on June 2, 2010, police freed a
family of Christian brick kiln workers in Raiwind, who had
been held captive for a year. ICC reported that Muhammad
Nawaz , the Muslim owner, held hostage Asghar Masih,
Rehana Bibi, and their three children at a brick kiln .
According to ICC Nawaz raped Rehana and her eldest
daughter repeatedly, tortured and chained the victims to
prevent their escape, and that Asghar escaped and informed
Pakistani officials. The police then raided the brick kiln,
freed the victims, and arrested Nawaz.
In April 2010 President Ali Asif Zardari announced the
establishment of a "hotline" in the Ministry for
Minorities Affairs for direct reporting of the most
serious cases of violence against religious minorities in
the country. The hotline has an extension to the president
for emergency calls from members of the minority community
subjected to violence.
At a Christmas dinner in December 2009, Prime Minister
Yousaf Raza Gilani announced the allotment of housing
plots for 500 Christian slum dwellers who had been evicted
from Chak Shahzad and had been living without housing in
Islamabad. At the same occasion, he announced that
Christians would be called "Masihi," followers
of the Messiah, as they requested.
The government continued to celebrate 10 religious
festivals of minority groups at the national level. Also,
the Minister for Minority Affairs, religious institutions,
and nongovernmental organizations continued to organize
interfaith meetings and dialogue sessions in an attempt to
reduce violence against minority communities. Ahmadis
refused to participate in events organized by the Ministry
of Minority Affairs, as they consider themselves to be a
Muslim sect.
Section III.
Status of Societal Respect for Religious Freedom
Relations among religious communities remained tense.
Violence against religious minorities and between Muslim
sects continued. Most believed a small minority was
responsible for attacks; however, discriminatory laws and
the teaching of religious intolerance created a permissive
environment for such attacks. Police often refused to
prevent violence and harassment or refused to charge
persons who committed such offenses. Conversion to other
minority religious groups generally took place in secret
to avoid societal backlash.
According to ICC in June 2010, the leaders of Katcha
Khoh, a Muslim village, ordered 250 Christian families to
leave their homes in Khanewal district, Punjab Province.
The Christian residents reportedly were expelled for
objecting too strenuously to sexual assaults by Muslims on
Christian girls and women. The group did not contact the
local police for fear that it would only result in false
charges being brought against it under blasphemy laws.
According to ICC on June 3, 2010, 14 Muslims extremists
in Sahiwal, Pakistan attacked Mumtaz Masih, a pastor,
Noreen, his pregnant wife, and his brother after they were
accused of proselytism.
According to CDN on April 13, 2010, Marwat Masih, a
Christian barber in Sargodha's Gulshan-e-Bashir, was
beaten and sodomized by eight Muslims after cutting the
beard of Qandeel Cheema, a 19-year-old Muslim high school
student. Cheema told Masih that he had lived and studied
in Lahore and wanted a more modern look. After initially
refusing Masih cut his beard. Shakeel Cheema, Qandeel's
older brother, witnessed the incident and had Masih bound
and beaten by Shakeel and seven others, breaking his ribs,
wrist, and leg bones. Afterwards, he was sodomized by the
eight men. As of the end of the reporting period, police
refused to file a First Information Report against Cheema
and his accomplices.
According to CDN on April 5, 2010, Sania James, a
Christian woman, was abducted at gun point and forced to
marry Mohammad Shahbaz Ali, a Muslim farmer. James Ayub,
Sania's father, had taken out a loan from Ali, his former
employer, for his oldest daughter's wedding. The gunmen
allegedly told her father that he would see his daughter
again only if he paid off the 250,000 rupees (approximately
$2,930) loan plus 30 percent interest. Sania was able to
escape.
According to Assist News Service, Sidra Sarwar, a
14-year-old Christian girl, was abducted at gun point on
August 28, 2009, and raped by three Muslim men. In order
to avoid prosecution, Muhammad Khalid, one of the
abductors, married her after she became pregnant. She
escaped and returned to her family on December 20, 2009.
The police declared the three men innocent on May 13,
2010. The girl and her family continued to receive threats.
On August 5, 2009, a factory owner and a laborer were
killed and dozens of workers injured in a leather factory
on the Muridke-Sheikhupura road near Kathiala village
after a factory official allegedly incited laborers to
violence by accusing the owner of desecrating Qur'anic
verses.
Mobs occasionally attacked individuals accused of
blasphemy and their families or their religious
communities. When blasphemy and other religious cases were
brought to court, extremists often packed the courtroom
and made public threats against an acquittal. Religious
extremists continued to threaten to kill those acquitted
of blasphemy charges. Accused persons often went into
hiding or emigrated after acquittal.
Ahmadi individuals and institutions long have been
victims of religious violence, much of it organized by
religious extremists. According to a spokesman for the
Ahmadiyya community, since the promulgation of anti-Ahmadi
laws in 1984, 108 Ahmadis have been killed on religious
grounds.
In September 2009 Ulema in Karachi announced that they
would celebrate September 11 as a day of protest,
declaring that Ahmadiyaat was a fitna (chaos) and that
Ahmadis are blasphemers.
On June 13, 2010, according to India Today, two persons
were injured in an explosion in Lahore when an explosive
device detonated outside the Ahmadi-owned Shezan Factory.
The police were investigating whether the attack had
targeted Ahmadis.
On May 31, 2010, in the town of Narowal, Abid Butt
stabbed Naimatullah Ahmed, a 55 year-old Ahmadi, and his
son Mansoor Ahmed. Naimatullah died of knife wounds, and
Mansoor was taken to the hospital. The attacker escaped,
but was quoted as threatening to not leave any Ahmadi
alive.
On March 19, 2010, unknown individuals kidnapped
Iftikhar-ul-Haq, an Ahmadi lawyer from Quetta, at gunpoint
and held him for a ransom of 100 million rupees (approximately
$1.17 million dollars.). While he was held, he was accused
of distributing Ahmadi literature and converting others.
He was also asked to name Ahmadi community officials and
businessmen. He was released for 3,085,000 rupees
($45,000) on April 7.
According to the Asian Human Rights Commission, on
January 5, 2010, two masked gunmen on motorcycles shot
Muhammad Yusuf, a 70-year-old retired Ahmadi professor, in
Lahore . He died on route to the hospital.
The Hindu community living in Sindh Province reported
they were increasingly the target of kidnappings for
ransom. Criminals targeted Hindu businessmen for
abductions, particularly in Karachi, Sindh. Hindus claimed
they were forced to pay ransom because police did little
to recover kidnapping victims.
On March 4, 2010, The Nation reported that as many as
65 Dalit (low caste Hindu) families were displaced due to
rising incidents of kidnapping and insecurity in District
Tharparkar District, Sindh.
On September 5, 2009, unidentified extremists set
ablaze religious books of Sikhs and Hindus in a joint
temple, the Guru Nanak Darbar at Kandhkot, Sindh. The
incident deeply disturbed the Hindus and Sikhs throughout
the province, and the Pakistan Hindu Foundation issued a
call for three-day mourning period, after which Hindus
observed a strike in various districts of the province.
Despite recent attacks against Sikhs in the FATA,
societal violence against the Sikh community remained
comparatively rare.
Ismailis reported they were the objects of resentment
of Sunni Muslims due to their comparative economic
well-being. Ismailis reported they frequently faced
societal pressure to adopt conservative Islamic practices
or risk being socially ostracized.
Some Sunni Muslim groups published literature calling
for violence against Ahmadis, Shi'a Muslims, other Sunni
sects, and Hindus. Some newspapers frequently published
articles that contained derogatory references to religious
minorities, especially Ahmadis, Hindus, and Jews.
Discrimination in employment based on religious
affiliation appeared widespread. Christians had difficulty
finding jobs other than those involving menial labor,
although Christian activists stated that the situation had
improved somewhat in the private sector in recent years.
Section IV. U.S.
Government Policy
The U.S. government discusses religious freedom with
the government as part of its overall policy to promote
human rights. U.S. embassy and consulate officers
maintained a dialogue with government, religious, and
minority community representatives to encourage religious
freedom and discuss the blasphemy laws, curriculum reform
in public education and madrassah education systems,
treatment of the Ahmadiyya and Christian communities, and
sectarian violence.
Officers investigated and monitored human rights cases
involving religious minorities and pressed government
officials to respond swiftly and effectively to these
incidents, as well as to improve the regular protection of
and outreach to minority groups.
Following the May 28, 2010, attacks on the Ahmadi
mosques in Lahore, the Department of State, the embassy,
and consulate general Lahore publicly condemned the
attacks and called for a thorough investigation.
Embassy officials, including the ambassador, and
visiting State Department officials met with government
officials as well as leaders from communities of all
religious groups and nongovernmental organizations working
on religious freedom issues. For example, during her
October 2009 visit to Pakistan, Secretary Clinton visited
the shrine of the Bari Imam in Islamabad. She also met
with the imam of the 17th century Badshahi Mosque in
Lahore. Under Secretary for Global Affairs Otero chaired a
roundtable with minority leaders. Embassy and consulate
personnel participated in interfaith dialogue efforts
organized by Pakistani religious and civil society
organizations.
Embassy officials also raised with parliamentarians the
treatment of Ahmadis, Christians, and Hindus. During
Ramadan embassy and consulate officials hosted several
iftars (evening meal during Ramadan).
Embassy officials participated in a Christmas
celebration at Adyala jail in Rawalpindi in December 2009,
an interfaith reception in honor of the Arch-Bishop of the
Philippines in January 2010, and a "Holi" Hindu
Religious Festival in March 2010.
The embassy also hosted three speakers that addressed
religious issues in Islamabad, Karachi, and Lahore. Imam
Yahya Hendi, chaplain at Georgetown University, spoke
about "Islam in America." He interacted with
religious scholars, madrassa administrators, members of
the Council of Islamic Ideology, and students and teachers
in Islamabad and Karachi. Clarence Lusane addressed
minority rights and met with religious scholars. Safiya
Ghori discussed the topics of women and Islam with various
audiences.
آمین