Religious minorities in Pakistan continue to experience serious violations of their fundamental rights despite recent legislative measures intended to strengthen protections, according to a new report released by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP).

The report, Sanctuary Denied: Freedom of Religion or Belief in 2025/26, welcomes the enactment of the National Commission for Minorities Act 2025 and legislation in Punjab and Balochistan that raised the minimum marriageable age to 18. However, it argues that a significant gap remains between legal commitments and their implementation.

HRCP noted that the National Commission for Minorities has still not been constituted months after the law was passed, preventing the body from carrying out its intended role in safeguarding minority rights.

The report highlights the continued misuse of Pakistan's blasphemy laws, stating that hundreds of people accused of blasphemy remain caught in prolonged legal uncertainty. It also raises concerns that alleged organised networks accused of entrapping individuals in blasphemy cases have yet to face investigation.

Religious minorities continue to face various forms of persecution, including hate speech, discrimination and barriers to equal citizenship. HRCP warned that blasphemy allegations are increasingly being exploited against vulnerable individuals, often with severe consequences.

Particular concern was expressed over conditions facing the Ahmadiyya community. The report documented two extremist attacks in Chenab Nagar and cited growing efforts to exclude Ahmadis from public, social and commercial life.

Christian and Hindu communities remain especially vulnerable to abductions, forced marriages and alleged forced conversions. According to the report, girls from these communities are disproportionately affected, with poverty and inadequate police responses worsening their exposure to abuse.

HRCP also identified discriminatory employment practices, the increasing Islamisation of school curricula and limited coverage of minority concerns in mainstream media as evidence of deeper structural inequalities affecting religious minorities across the country.

Speaking at the report's launch, HRCP Director Farah Zia warned that the state's approach towards religious minorities was becoming increasingly exclusionary and was failing to uphold the principle of equal citizenship.

Minority rights advocate Nabila Bhatti highlighted the case of Kamran Gill, a Christian medical practitioner in Sheikhupura whose dispensary was reportedly set on fire by a mob on 9 October following allegations that he had shared blasphemous material on social media.

HRCP Punjab Vice-Chair Raja Ashraf said blasphemy accusations were increasingly being weaponised to exploit and endanger vulnerable people.

The report urges the federal government to fully implement the minorities commission law, investigate alleged blasphemy-entrapment networks and hold accountable those responsible for inciting violence against minority communities. It also calls for stronger safeguards against forced marriages and conversions, improved law-enforcement responses and greater protection for those defending minority rights.

ANI