UN Experts Slam Pakistan for Rising Religious Violence: Urge Immediate Action to Protect Minorities
New Delhi, July 28: In a strongly worded rebuke, a panel of United Nations (UN) human rights experts has expressed deep concern over the rising tide of violence against religious minorities in Pakistan. The experts urged the country to investigate these abuses, prosecute perpetrators, and initiate structural reforms to prevent further violations.
The UN experts, in a statement released on July 24, 2025, said they were “shocked at reports of increasing violence against vulnerable communities on grounds of their religion or belief.” The panel warned that without urgent action, the situation could deteriorate further, especially for communities that have long been denied basic rights and protections.
A Pattern of Persecution, Not Isolated Incidents
According to the UN’s assessment and corroborating reports by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, the violence is not random or sporadic, but part of a deliberate pattern of systemic repression.
Communities such as Ahmadiyya Muslims, Christians, Hindus, and Shia Muslims have repeatedly faced targeted attacks, both by non-state actors and, increasingly, through institutional complicity or inaction.
The ‘One World Outlook’ report, which analyzed these developments, emphasized the UN panel’s urgent appeal:
“Pakistan must break the pattern of impunity that has allowed perpetrators to act without restraint.”
This call underscores years of accumulated frustration among human rights defenders who have documented a sharp increase in religiously motivated violence since early 2024.
Ahmadiyya Muslims: A Community Under Siege
One of the most persecuted groups in Pakistan, the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, continues to face severe religious discrimination and violence. Constitutionally declared non-Muslims in 1974, Ahmadis are banned from referring to themselves as Muslims or using Islamic symbols.
Recent documentation by Human Rights Watch noted:
- Desecration of Ahmadi mosques
- Vandalism of graveyards
- Burning of religious texts
- Frequent arrests under blasphemy laws
“Even in death, they are denied dignity as graveyards are routinely vandalised,” the report stated.
Ahmadi voters are placed on separate electoral rolls, a move seen as institutional segregation. Their worship sites are often sealed by police, and community members are regularly targeted by fabricated blasphemy accusations, leading to detentions, disappearances, and extrajudicial killings.
Blasphemy Laws: A Tool of Repression
Pakistan's blasphemy laws, which carry penalties including life imprisonment and death, have become a flashpoint in the growing international concern over religious freedom in the country.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), in its 2025 report, called these laws:
“A mechanism of ethnic cleansing.”
The Commission has repeatedly called on the U.S. State Department to designate Pakistan as a “country of particular concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act, citing the continued misuse of these laws against minorities, especially Christians, Hindus, and Shia and Ahmadiyya Muslims.
Several cases documented by Amnesty International involved:
- Sexual violence against minority women
- Detention under fabricated charges
- Lack of access to fair trials or legal representation
Forced Conversions and Marriages: A Human Rights Crisis
The ongoing crisis of forced conversions and child marriages has intensified, particularly targeting Hindu, Christian, and Sikh girls, some reportedly as young as 12 years old.
According to field reports and case studies:
- Girls are abducted, forcibly converted to Islam, and married to their captors.
- Victims rarely receive justice, with local police often siding with the perpetrators or citing religious sensitivities to delay investigations.
In early 2025, the UK Parliament held a debate where lawmakers across party lines described these acts as:
“A serious abuse of human rights that robs women and girls of the right to choose their own future.”
The UN experts, echoing this sentiment, called on Pakistan to enforce laws prohibiting child marriage, safeguard girls’ rights, and abolish religiously motivated immunity for such crimes.
“Tacit Official Complicity” and the Climate of Fear
One of the strongest phrases in the UN’s July 24 statement was its reference to “tacit official complicity.” The panel accused law enforcement agencies of deliberately looking the other way or being actively involved in discriminatory actions.
The report noted:
“The cycle of fear prevents both people and institutions from upholding the rights and dignity of these minorities.”
Rights groups argue that the lack of state accountability has emboldened extremist factions, resulting in mob violence, lynchings, and intimidation campaigns against dissenters and civil society.
In some rural areas, local clerics and religious hardliners operate with near-total autonomy, issuing fatwas and engaging in vigilante justice, often with no legal consequences.
UN’s Recommendations: A Call to Reform
In light of the growing crisis, the UN experts have called for a comprehensive overhaul of Pakistan’s legal and institutional framework relating to religious freedom. Their key recommendations include:
- Immediate investigation of all religiously motivated attacks
- Prosecution of perpetrators, regardless of their political or religious affiliations
- Abolition of blasphemy laws, or at the very least, significant reform
- Protection of religious sites and restoration of desecrated ones
- Legislative safeguards to protect minority women from abduction and forced conversion
These recommendations are supported by international legal standards, including Pakistan’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which the country is a signatory.
Pakistan’s Response: A Deafening Silence
Despite mounting international pressure, Pakistan’s government has so far issued no formal response to the July 24 UN statement. Activists note that in the past, similar concerns were met with defensiveness, denials, or token reforms with little real impact.
Attempts at legislative reform, such as the Anti-Forced Conversion Bill or Child Marriage Restraint Act, have been blocked or diluted under pressure from hardline religious groups.
Reader Takeaway: What’s at Stake?
Pakistan’s deepening crisis of religious intolerance threatens not only its international credibility but also the fabric of its pluralistic society.
Unless meaningful steps are taken:
- Violence will escalate
- Minority voices will be silenced
- International sanctions or downgrading of diplomatic ties could follow
As the world watches, the onus is on Pakistan’s civilian and military leadership to prove that human rights and religious freedom are more than just words in the country’s constitution.
Conclusion
The UN’s rare and unequivocal condemnation signals a turning point. While religious persecution in Pakistan is not new, the urgency with which the global community is now responding reflects a broader shift — one that demands accountability, justice, and systemic change.
Only time will tell whether Pakistan heeds the warning or chooses to remain on a path that further isolates its most vulnerable citizens.
