Religious Freedom in Pakistan

The Pakistani Constitution of 1956 was a liberal, democratic document that offered its citizens freedom of expression, speech, and assembly, as well as other civil rights familiar in the West. This Constitution was dissolved in 1958 during a revolution and was replaced by a new Constitution in 1962, which named Pakistan an “Islamic Republic” but still offered citizens and religious minorities equal protection under the law. However, in 1973 a much more stringent and overtly Islamic Constitution was established, declaring Islam the state religion and the position of President or Prime Minister open only to Muslims. In addition, the Constitution required the Islamizing of any law which was antithetical to Islam but did not provide clearly defined parameters for implementation. Although the Constitution includes adequate accommodation for Pakistan’s religious minorities, in practice non-Sunni Muslims face religious discrimination in both the public and private spheres. In response to rising sectarian and religious violence, the Pakistani government has unveiled several high profile efforts to reduce tension and support religious pluralism, giving new authority to the National Commission for Minorities and creating a Minister for Minority Affairs post. Nonetheless, religious violence is still common throughout Pakistan. Ahmadis, Sikhs, Christians, and others face violence, intimidation, as well as charges of blasphemy. In November 2010, Asia Noreen Bibi was the first woman sentenced to death under Pakistan’s blasphemy law for allegedly defaming the Prophet Muhammad; as of December 2012 her sentence has not been carried out as yet. In early 2011 Punjab state governor Salman Taseer and Minister for Minority Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti were both assassinated for supporting her.