PAKISTAN COUNTRY PROFILE
Declining human rights for Christians and other minorities in Pakistan continued a “troubling trajectory” 165 during the period under review. Government policies and legislative changes promised improvement, but the reality was very different. However, Christians and others described the 2023 Religious Education Curriculum as a “progressive initiative” 166 for religious minorities, who, instead of having compulsory Islam classes, are now permitted to study their own religions. The Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Child Marriage Restraint Act 2025 167 raised the minimum age of marriage for both genders to 18 — up from 16 for girls. The legislation was aimed at “ultimately eliminating” child marriage in a country where the problem is endemic, 168 especially for Christian and other minority faith girls. The Act only applies to the Pakistan capital. Provinces, including Punjab, 169 where most Pakistani Christians live, have also considered such legislation, but
opponents have slowed progress. Fears were expressed that new legislation would be ignored, as seen in Sindh Province, where, despite 2013 laws barring marriage to under-18s, 170 courts have upheld cases involving brides as young as 13. 171 Courts continually invoke Sharia law to override legal age limits for marriage. 172 In April 2026, UN experts expressed “serious concern” about the abduction, forced conversion, and marriage of women and girls from Christian and other minority faith communities. 173 In 2025, it was estimated that there might possibly be up to 2,000 kidnapping cases every year, 174 with those abducted facing physical and sexual abuse. Concerns grew about increasing blasphemy cases, especially after Section 298A of the Pakistan Penal Code was expanded. Rights watchdog The Center for Social Justice recorded 344 blasphemy cases in 2024, six percent involving Christians, a disproportionately high rate. 175 and more than 80 Christians’ homes were targeted, Christians held protests against alleged state failure to bring the perpetrators to justice. There were similar demonstrations in June 2025, when a Pakistan court acquitted 10 Muslims allegedly implicated in one of the attacks in Jaranwala. Reports stated that, of the 5,213 accused in connection with the violence against Christians, none had been convicted. 178 MARCH 2026 More than 100 Christians in Sargodha carried the remains of deceased farm laborer Marqas Masih, 22, and blocked a main road to protest apparent police refusal to investigate the man’s death. Mr. Masih’s family were told by his employer that the young Christian had committed suicide, but when they recovered the body, they reported evidence of torture. 179
SELECTED INCIDENTS
SEPTEMBER 2024 Shagufta Kiran, a 40-year-old Christian and mother of four, was sentenced to death for blasphemy after allegedly sharing blasphemous content on WhatsApp. 176 FEBRUARY 2025 Saba Shafique, a 12-year-old Christian girl from Lahore, was abducted while buying milk from the local bazaar. Her abductor was Muhammad Ali, 33, a long-time acquaintance of the family. He is accused of forcibly converting her to Islam and marrying her, with the connivance of local imam Allama Molana Syed Ajjad Hussein. It is alleged he falsified official records to show Saba was 18 years old. 177
AUGUST 2025 Two years after the attacks in Jaranwala, in which at least 24 church buildings were desecrated,
32 | Persecuted and Forgotten?
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