In a sharp criticism of Pakistan’s treatment of its religious minorities, diaspora organisation INSIGHT UK on Wednesday placed evidence before the British Parliament, exposing how Hindus have been systematically hounded, dispossessed and decimated in Pakistan.
The report begins with a statistic that tells the entire story of persecution. After partition, that number fell off a cliff. The persecution, the report argues, is not just on the streets but written into the very laws of Pakistan.
Hindus constituted 14.6% of the population in the region that became West Pakistan, according to the 1941 Census of India. Today, less than 2% of Pakistan’s population is Hindu. Articles 41 and 91 of its Constitution mandate that only a Muslim can become President or Prime Minister, a provision that remains unchallenged after a 2019 reform bill was blocked.
Ending on a strong note, the report makes five urgent demands to the UK Government. It has called for making minority protection non-negotiable in every UK-Pakistan dialogue with time-bound action on temple protection and speedy trials, linking British aid to Pakistan to progress on human rights and ring-fencing funds for minority rights groups, reserving two posts at the British High Commission in Islamabad for members of minority communities so that abuses are reported without a filter, publishing an official six-monthly report on the socio-economic condition of Hindus, The report has urged the Foreign Secretary, the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief and the Indo-Pacific Minister to act, asserting that religious freedom is a human right and the safety, dignity and agency of minorities must be protected.
