Religious minorities in Pakistan continue to face persecution, mob violence, forced conversions and discrimination despite legislative safeguards, with the misuse of blasphemy laws and inadequate accountability deepening their vulnerability, according to a new report by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP).
Titled Sanctuary Denied: Freedom of Religion or Belief in 2025/26, the report documents violations between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026, affecting Ahmadis, Christians, Hindus and other religious minority communities. It warns that the state’s response to religious diversity is becoming increasingly exclusionary, while hate speech and discriminatory practices continue to undermine equal citizenship.One of the report’s key concerns is the alleged misuse of blasphemy laws to settle personal scores and extort money. Hundreds of people accused in what the HRCP describes as an alleged organised entrapment network remain caught in legal uncertainty, even as some have secured bail or been acquitted. The alleged perpetrators have yet to be investigated, the report says.
According to Punjab Prisons data cited in the report, 559 inmates were facing blasphemy-related charges as of June 28, 2026. Of these, 491 were undertrials, highlighting the prolonged incarceration faced by people awaiting the conclusion of their cases.
The report also highlights the continuing persecution of Ahmadis, including attacks on places of worship, violence against community members and attempts to exclude them from public and commercial life. It documents instances of shopkeepers refusing them entry and a courier company allegedly declining deliveries to an Ahmadi-majority area.
Christian and Hindu girls, particularly those from economically disadvantaged families, continue to face abduction, child marriage and alleged forced religious conversion. The report cites United Nations experts who found that around 75 per cent of victims of forced conversion through marriage in 2025 were Hindu and 25 per cent Christian, with approximately 80 per cent of reported incidents occurring in Sindh.
Discrimination also extends to employment and education. The HRCP notes that religious minorities remain disproportionately confined to sanitation work, often under hazardous conditions, while school curricula can marginalise minority beliefs and reinforce religious hierarchies.
