FATE OF MINORITIES IN PAKISTAN AN OVERVIEW OF INITIAL SIX DECADES (1947 CE-2007 CE) OF CHRISTIANS IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

Pakistan is a Muslim country with 1.37% Christian minorities (2023 census) and are subject to various legal protection and oppression. The Christians of Pakistan were enjoying privileges of minorities until 1990s, when Nawaz Sharif formed his government and continued Zia’s legacy of Islamizaton of laws in Pakistan, especially the laws related to the orientation of religion. Amending religious laws by Sharif gave way to religious bigot in persecuting the minorities and then claiming legal immunity. After 1990s, minorities in Pakistan sensed and witnessed an era of fear, oppression and persecution by religious men especially in terms of grabbing their properties by charging them with religious offences as the Sharif’s first government changed the laws of Pakistan and made them more lethal for minorities especially for Christian. Similarly, the government provided protection to the persecutors in shape of constitution and then highlights remedies available to minorities in Pakistan. The aim of the paper is to critically analyze the legislative amendments implemented during the 1990s Nawaz Sharif government that institutionalized the persecution of Christian minorities in Pakistan. The paper also identify specific legal alterations that made the judicial framework demonstrably more lethal for the 1.37% Christian population regarding religious orientation offenses. The objective of the paper is to demonstrate how these laws enabled religious bigots to operate with legal impunity, using fabricated religious charges as a pretext for property seizure and violence. The paper also examine the systemic role of the government and certain provisions in providing protective cover to persecutors.