Shafique Khokhar

Two girls, aged 12 and 15, were recently returned to their families, but their kidnappers have not yet been brought to justice. Human rights groups complain that impunity in forced conversion cases encourages a practice that victimises mainly religious minorities.

High Court sentenced the pastor on 13 July. Rights groups call on the court to review its decision, urges parliament to repeal laws criminalising conversions. Some fear extremists might exploit the legislation.

In 2017, a customer accused a Christian bicycle repair shop, Ashfaq Masih, of defaming the Prophet Muhammad. For the latter’s family, the charges are spurious, a way not to pay for the work done. In many cases, lower courts impose the death penalty under pressure from extremist groups.

Drugged by a friend, the victim was taken away while her parents slept upstairs. The next day she was forced to convert to Islam and marry. Police refused to register the complaint filed by her family. For Human Rights Focus Pakistan, “more than a thousand such incidents occur every year”.

Ejaz Masih, a father of three, found himself in debt and forced to close his business. Thanks to the charity he was able to reopen a shop and supply it with goods. The charity is “converting jobless people into business people and borrowers into givers,” says the charity’s president, Rehan Farooq. Help goes to the marginalised with skills “without distinctions of faith, caste or social origin”.

Sattar Masih and his son Azhar worked at the mansion of a Muslim landowner. When they quit, they began to receive threats. Khalida Parveen, Sattar’s wife and Azhar’s mother, was beaten and injured. A first court hearing was held a few days ago thanks to Human Rights Focus Pakistan.

Saba was kidnapped in May by two Muslim men who wanted to force her to convert to Islam. Christian groups thank the police, but asks for a special committee to deal with the problem. Protests by civil society groups help secure the girl’s release.

Rehmat Masih has been in prison for five months and his family threatened. He had refused to convert to Islam. They blame him for some pages of the sacred text of Muslims found in the sewer drain, but there is no evidence against him.

A document presented to highlight the inconsistencies between Pakistan's population censuses between 1981, 1998 and 2017. Religious minorities are not faithfully represented. Need to broaden self-definition categories.

Stephen Masih was arrested more than three years ago after an argument with a neighbour. This forced family to move to a safe place. “I hope bail will allow us to provide him with care and assistance,” his brother said.

Another Christian girl was kidnapped for marriage. Her captor is known and there are witnesses against him, but even the court hearings have not yielded any results. For Human Rights Focus Pakistan, Pakistan’s new government should adopt a proposed bill against forced conversions.

The attacker, now in custody, struck Muhammad "Chacha" Sharif in the stomach in broad daylight, then slit his throat. He was shouting hateful phrases during the attack. Local sources speculate disputes over a sum of money behind the act.