Population: 172.8 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 abuse of Christian women can be common – and justice for them can prove elusive.
The constitution establishes Islam as the state religion: proselytising among Muslims is banned. A form of Sharia (Islamic 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).
Extremists have been responsible for several high-profile attacks in recent years, including the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Her widower Asif Ali Zardari was sworn in as president in September 2008, a month after Musharraf resigned amid talk of his being impeached.
Pakistan has dropped its support for the Taliban in Afghanistan but extremists on Pakistani soil retain strong links with them.
Causes for concern
Pakistan's blasphemy laws – especially the notorious Section 295C of the Penal Code – can be used against religious minorities to settle personal scores. The number of Christians charged is disproportionately high.
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.
There was a review of the blasphemy laws under Musharraf's regime but no significant changes made. 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 have been accused of apathy – and 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 2008; World Christian Database.
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