Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif recently admitted that minorities in the country are experiencing specific acts of violence based on religious reasons. During a session of the National Assembly, on Sunday, he said that the country had not succeeded in safeguarding its minorities, who are experiencing targeted violence in the name of religion. Expressing concerns over the daily killings of minorities, Khawaja stated, "Every day, minorities are being killed. They are not safe under the guise of Islam. I want to address the issue of minority safety, but the opposition is blocking my efforts. Pakistan is facing global embarrassment."
Asif stressed that in Pakistan, no religious minorities, including smaller Islamic sects, are secure, despite constitutional safeguards. He urged for measures to protect minorities, pointing out that many victims of violence had no links to blasphemy accusations but were targeted because of personal conflicts. "Minorities are being murdered daily... no religious minority is safe in Pakistan. Even the smaller sects of the Muslims are not safe," said the minister, as reported by Pakistani news agency DAWN.
He further said, "Even smaller Muslim sects are not safe in Pakistan, which is a disgraceful situation. We intend to propose a resolution to protect minorities. While our constitution guarantees minority rights, there are incidents of violence occurring across various locations. Those who have been killed so far did not have any evidence linking them to blasphemy; rather, these killings seem to stem from personal vendettas."
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“Our Constitution provides protection to the minorities, but practically we are seeing them being murdered in Swat, Sargodha and Faisalabad. This is a matter of concern and embarrassment [for the nation],” Khawaja said.
According to reports from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and Human Rights Watch, Hindus, Sikhs and other minority groups in Pakistan still encounter difficulties such as forced conversions, abductions, murders and assaults on their religious sites.
Khawaja’s comments followed two incidents of mob killings over blasphemy allegations within a month, which have caused widespread concern and raised questions about the government's ability to prevent mob violence. A mob in Swat lynched a 40-year-old man accused of desecrating pages of the holy Quran, a charge he allegedly denied while under police custody.
In another recent incident last month in Punjab province, a mob assaulted Nazir Masih, a 72-year-old Christian man, accusing him of desecrating Quranic pages. He later died from his injuries in the hospital.
(With inputs from Agency)