Violence against non-Muslims ‘constant’

An independent public advocacy organisation in Karachi has reported “continuous and constant violence against religious minorities” in Pakistan in the period 2012-14. The Jinnah Institute said “forced conversions, kidnappings, damage to areas of worship, sexual violence and targeted killings are practices to which minorities are regularly subjected”. Minorities include Christians, Hindus and Ahmadis.

The Institute is dedicated to the “Founder of Pakistan” Mohammed Ali Jinnah, who wanted Pakistan to be a pluralist and inclusive country. In the two-year period the institute noted 265 victims of attacks, 550 families forced to flee, and 21 people indicted for alleged blasphemy. Incidents singled out included the March 2013 torching by a Muslim mob of around 150 Christian homes and two churches in Lahore’s Joseph Colony neighbourhood, after a Christian man was accused of blasphemy. Another was the killing and burning of a Christian couple in a brick kiln near Lahore in November 2014 for allegedly desecrating pages of the Qur’an.

The woman, a mother of three, was pregnant, and last week a Christian Foundation undertook responsibility to provide education to all three of her children. Some 97 per cent of Pakistan’s 180 million population are Muslim, and allegations can trigger a violent public response.