A senior US Senator has expressed concern over Pakistan’s ongoing suppression of religious freedom and discriminatory policies targeting minority communities.
A recent report by Pakistan’s top human rights body highlights rising violence, forced conversions, and underage marriages involving Hindu and Christian girls.
Senator Jim Risch criticised Pakistan’s continued use of blasphemy laws and other measures that he says restrict and endanger religious minorities.
A key US Senator has raised concerns over the continuous suppression of religious freedom and discriminatory policies of the government against minority groups in Pakistan.
According to a report released by Pakistan's top human rights body earlier this year, there has been an alarming rise in violence against religious minorities, apart from forced conversions and underage marriages of Hindu and Christian girls.
"The Pakistani government continues to suppress religious freedom for minority groups by imposing blasphemy law and other discriminatory policies,” Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Senator Jim Risch said in a social media post on Tuesday.
What Is The Report?
'Streets of Fear: Freedom of Religion or Belief in 2024/25,' a report by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) released in August, highlighted such cases of suppression against minority groups, especially the Ahmadis, Hindus and Christians in the country.
There has been a trend of mob lynching of minority members accused of blasphemy, it said.
Raising concern over such incidents, Risch said, “Atmosphere of intolerance including mob violence, hate speech, arbitrary arrests, and forced conversions often remains unchecked” against minority groups in Pakistan.
The rights body had pointed out the rise in hate speech ranging from threats against the chief justice of the Supreme Court to public vilification of elected representatives.
This is because of shrinking civic space and emboldened extremist elements, it said.
It asked the Pakistan government to establish an inquiry commission based on the findings of the National Commission for Human Rights with respect to entrapment in allegations of blasphemy.
Law enforcement forces also need to be better equipped to protect individuals from mob violence, with vital police training in intelligence gathering, crowd management, reading early signals of riots, and community policing, it said.
