Hindu population share in Pakistan fell from 14.6 per % to below 2 %, says report
New Delhi: Diaspora organisation INSIGHT UK on Wednesday presented a report on the persecution of Hindus in Pakistan to the All-Party Parliamentary Group for British Hindus. It urged the British government to press Islamabad for stronger minority protections.
Titled “The Religious Persecution of Hindus in Pakistan”, the report draws on historical records and contemporary testimonies. It describes threats to religious freedom, personal safety, property ownership and access to justice.
Population and displacement
Citing the 1941 Census of India, the report says Hindus formed 14.6 per cent of the population in the territory that later became West Pakistan. It puts their present share in Pakistan at below 2 per cent.
INSIGHT UK links the decline to persecution and displacement over several decades. The report also documents episodes of violence dating back to Partition in 1947. It alleges that Enemy Property laws deprived displaced Hindu families of ancestral homes, farms and land, contributing to poverty and prolonged displacement.
Restrictions on religious rights
The report points to constitutional provisions that reserve the offices of president and prime minister for Muslims. It says an attempt to change these restrictions through a reform bill failed in 2019. It also raises concerns over mandatory religious identification on Pakistani passports.
According to the report, Islamabad lacks a functioning Hindu temple. It says construction of a temple approved by authorities stopped in 2020 after protests by Islamist groups.
Forced conversion concerns
The report cites an estimate that at least 1,000 Hindu and Christian women and girls face abduction, forced conversion and forced marriage each year. It says many victims are minors from poor households whose families struggle to secure justice. The organisation identifies their safety and access to legal remedies as urgent concerns.
Five demands for Britain
INSIGHT UK has proposed five measures. These include making minority protection central to UK-Pakistan talks, with deadlines for temple protection and trials. It also seeks conditions linking British aid to human rights progress, alongside protected funding for minority rights organisations.
The remaining proposals seek two British High Commission posts for minority community members, official six-monthly reports on minorities’ socio-economic conditions and safe asylum routes for persecution survivors. The organisation urged the Foreign Secretary, the prime minister’s religious freedom envoy and the Indo-Pacific minister to act. It called for protection of minorities’ safety, dignity and freedom of belief.