Forced conversions: 81 Hindus, 42 Christians and 1 Sikh converted to Islam in Pakistan

65 percent of cases of forced faith conversion were reported in Sindh in 2022, followed by 33 percent in Punjab, and 0.8 percent each in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan

PGurus Newsdesk

March 31, 2023

65 percent of cases of forced faith conversion were reported in Sindh in 2022, followed by 33 percent in Punjab, and 0.8 percent each in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan

Forced conversions in Pakistan

In 2022, at least 124 forced faith conversions involving girls and women from minority communities comprising 81 Hindu, 42 Christian, and one Sikh were reported in Pakistan.

A Human Rights Observer 2023 fact sheet revealed that 23 percent of girls were below 14 years of age, 36 percent of them were between the age of 14 and 18 years, and only 12 percent of the victims were adults, while the age of 28 percent of the victims was not reported, reports Dawn news.

Sixty-five percent of forced faith conversion cases were reported in Sindh in 2022, followed by 33 percent in Punjab, and 0.8 percent each in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

The fact sheet revealed that the religious content against minorities increased in curriculum and textbooks during the year 2022 and several perennial and new challenges emerged in the education system, Dawn reported.

A report by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) covers five key issues impacting religious minorities: discrimination in the education system, the prevalence of forced faith conversions, abuse of blasphemy laws, and the establishment of the National Commission for Minorities and jail remissions for minority prisoners.

The fact sheet showed that as many as 171 people were accused under the blasphemy laws, 65 percent of cases surfaced in Punjab and 19 percent in Sindh.

The highest occurrence was observed in the districts of Karachi, followed by Chiniot, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Dera Ghazi Khan, Nankana Sahib, Lahore, and Sheikhupura.

The highest number of victims (88) was Muslims, followed by 75 Ahmadis, four Christians, and two Hindus, while the religious identity of the two accused could not be ascertained.

According to a report by Dawn, four individuals were unlawfully killed in 2021 – two in Punjab, one in Sindh, and another in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This raises the total number of extra-judicial killings from 1987 to 2022 to a total of 88 people.

[With Inputs from IANS]

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