Country Profile - Pakistan

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.



News Stories

Date    Subject

22-07-2008 Pakistan: Government troops attack extremists
15-07-2008 Christian teenager allegedly tortured to death in Pakistan - for phoning a Muslim girl. Latest 'honour killing' highlights plight of Christians in Pakistan
08-07-2008 Pakistan: Taliban militants release 16 Christians
24-06-2008 Pakistan: Taliban militants pardoned in North West Frontier Province
27-05-2008 Pakistan: Christians lobby for greater representation in government
13-05-2008 Pakistan: Christian doctor accused of blasphemy
29-04-2008 Pakistan: North West Frontier Province agrees to introduce Sharia law
01-04-2008 Pakistan: Christians protest over attack on church
18-03-2008 Pakistan: Partner attacked while rescuing Christian teenager
13-03-2008 Christian executed in Pakistan after confession under torture
05-02-2008 Pakistan: Young Christian evangelist shot dead by gunman
22-01-2008 Pakistan: extremists shoot Christian in Punjab
08-01-2008 Pakistan: Pressures likely to increase on Christians
31-12-2007 PAKISTAN TURMOIL: GROWING DANGER FOR CHRISTIANS, WARNS RELEASE INTERNATIONAL – Pictures available
11-12-2007 Pakistan: Christian teacher receives death threats
13-11-2007 Pakistan: Greater Risk for Christians Under State of Emergency
08-11-2007 PAKISTAN: CHURCH ATTACKED FOR RELAYING PRAYERS THROUGH LOUDSPEAKER – IN RETALIATION SEVEN MOSQUE LOUDSPEAKERS CALL FOR WAR ON CHRISTIANS – PIX AVAILABLE
16-10-2007 Pakistan: Female Teachers and Students Told to Wear Burqa or Risk Death
02-10-2007 PAKISTAN CHRISTIAN STILL HIDING FROM MILITANTS WHO WANT TO KILL HIM - DESPITE BEING CLEARED OF BLASPHEMY CHARGES… AND THE 16-YEAR-OLD FUGITIVE IN FEAR OF HIS LIFE AFTER A SCHOOLBOY SQUABBLE - VICTIMS OF BLASPHEMY CHARGES
02-10-2007 Pakistan: Christian Teenager Cleared of BlasphemY Charges
04-09-2007 Pakistan: Christian Girls Abducted and Foribly Converted to Islam
21-08-2007 Pakistan: Christians Ordered to Turn to Islam or Be Killed
07-08-2007 Pakistan: Young Man Gunned Down for Refusing to Become a Muslim
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