Population: 165 million
Capital: Islamabad
Government: Federal republic
Religion: Muslim 96%; Christian 2.5%; Hindu 1.3%

Political context

Pakistan was born out of the partition of the Indian sub-continent in 1947 and Muslims’ demand for their own homeland.

Its present-day borders were established in 1971 when former East Pakistan, which was mainly Bengali-speaking, broke away to become Bangladesh.

Neither civilian regimes nor military dictatorships have brought political stability to a country still crippled by poverty and violence.

Pakistan's international respectability nosedived when General Pervez Musharraf seized power in 1999. However, Pakistan's standing has improved since the September 11 attacks in 2001, when it became a key ally of the US in the fight against global terrorism.

Rise of the radicals

The founder of Pakistan, Mohammed Ali Jinnar, promised equal rights for religious minorities. Yet, Christians are among the poorest and most marginalised in Pakistani society.

In court, a Christian man's testimony is worth half that of a Muslim man's: a Christian woman's is worth only a quarter. So the rape of Christian women is common -- and justice for them elusive.

The constitution establishes Islam as the state religion: proselytising among Muslims is banned. A form of Sharia law called the Hudood Ordinance, introduced in 1979, enforces Islamic penalties for crimes such as extra-marital sex. Islamic hard-liners lead a strong opposition and make reform difficult.

Indeed, radical Islam is spreading. Islamic extremists have gained popular support by providing hospitals, job training, universities -- and Islamic schools or madrassas. Their curriculum often includes military training for jihad or holy war.

While Musharraf's regime has dropped its support for the Taliban in Afghanistan, Pakistan's extremists retain strong links with them.

Causes for concern 

Pakistan's blasphemy laws -- especially the notorious Section 295(c) of the Penal Code -- are often used against religious minorities to settle personal scores. So the number of Christians charged is disproportionate.

Under a 1990 ruling, a guilty verdict should mean the death penalty: in practice, there have been no official executions for blasphemy to date. Courts have tended to give a life sentence, though it is often reduced on appeal.

Courtrooms packed with extremists have often pressured judges into returning a guilty verdict or continuing trials indefinitely. Hospital worker Ranjha Masih was acquitted of blasphemy in 2006 -- after eight-and-a-half years in jail.

President Musharraf has reviewed the blasphemy laws but made no significant changes. For now, like the Hudood Ordinance, they continue to foster religious intolerance.

The law offers little protection to Christians, given their low social status. So attacks on believers and their churches are not uncommon. Police are accused of apathy -- or even complicity -- in these attacks.

RI projects

RI's work in Pakistan includes:

• Practical and moral support for more than 100 Christian prisoners and their families
• Backing for a group of lawyers who work to uphold the rights of religious minorities, including Christians
• Supporting the production and distribution of Christian literature, videos and CDs

Sources: BBC; International Christian Concern; Operation World; Release International; The World Factbook 2007; World Christian Database.

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