Karachi, August 12: Amid ongoing violence against religious minorities in Pakistan, representatives from the ‘Minority Rights March’ and civil society held a protest outside Mazar-e-Quaid in Karachi on National Minority Day. They condemned the rising discrimination and persecution faced by minority communities across the country.
Prominent rights activists and community leaders participated in the demonstration, including Sheema Kermani, Pastor Ghazala Shafiq, Vinesh Arya, Sajjal Shafiq, Nathan Daniel, and Anwar Sheikh.
According to reports from the Pakistani newspaper ‘The Express Tribune’, the protesters demanded that the government criminalize forced conversions and amend personal laws related to marriage between individuals of different religions. This is aimed at protecting the rights of minority spouses and children.
They also appealed for the acceptance of their eleven-point demands, which include strong security measures against forced conversions and protection from the misuse of blasphemy laws.
Other demands included a 10% quota for minorities in government and private sector jobs at all levels, an end to the practice of limiting minorities to cleaning and low-paying jobs, and the protection and restoration of minority worship places and properties.
Protesters called for the digitization of records and the establishment of a national and provincial minority rights commission to implement the Supreme Court‘s 2014 ruling.
They urged the removal of discriminatory and hate-promoting content from school syllabi and textbooks, emphasizing the need for greater focus on respect, tolerance, peace, and religious diversity for minorities. They also demanded that specific religious identities replace the term ‘non-Muslim’ in the constitution and other laws.
Pakistan observes National Minority Day every year on August 11, commemorating Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s speech in the Constituent Assembly in 1947, where he stated that individuals are free to visit their temples, mosques, or other places of worship, and their status before the state will not be determined by religion, caste, or creed.
A report from the Pakistani newspaper ‘Dawn’ noted, “The gap between Jinnah’s principle of equal citizenship and the current reality cannot be overlooked. This is concerning as these protective measures were established at the time of Pakistan’s creation. Religious minorities still face mob lynching, attacks on places of worship, forced conversions, and social and economic ostracism.”
The report further stated, “Laws designed to protect religion are sometimes weaponized through false accusations, leading to consequences that extend far beyond the courts. Even if the government guarantees equality, social discrimination and institutional barriers effectively undermine that guarantee. The observance of ‘National Minority Rights Day’ should not be limited to mere formality.”
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