Christian Minorities Live in Persecution in Pakistan

Retired Archbishop Lawrence Saldanha of Lahore, Pakistan

Photo courtesy: The Catholic Register (Nov. 20, 2011)

Retired Archbishop Lawrence Saldanha of Lahore, Pakistan, on a recent visit to Toronto, said after the naked murder of Christian minister Shahbaz Bhatti on March 2, 2011, Pakistani Christians are living in fear and their voice is silenced, reports The Catholic Register of Toronto.

Archbishop also mentioned educated Pakistani Christians are abandoning their country to take shelter abroad. Those remaining in the country “are keeping their heads down and their mouths shut,” he said.

“In such a situation, minorities don’t have much place. There’s no tolerance for other religions,” he said. “Either you convert or you leave.”

A number of churches have to post guards and build concrete barriers to prevent attack on them. 

For the full interview of Archbishop Saldanha with The Catholic Register, you may read the following: “Christians live in fear in ‘Talibanized’ Pakistan.”

Regarding Human Rights of Its Minorities, Pakistan is a Failed State

The country is officially called “The Islamic Republic of Pakistan.” It has a population of over 132.35 million, of whom 95% are Muslims and 5% are Christians, Hindus and other minorities. 

It’s tragic but true that Pakistan today is a prime example of infamous “Blasphemy Laws” which have been causing widespread persecution among the minority groups in the name of Islam. The minorities are hostages in the hands of some religious extremists who use the blasphemy laws to settle scores with their rivals or competitors, to take revenge on someone, or to outright grab lands of minorities. 

Many politicians, judges and law enforcement personnel, to keep their positions intact, allow themselves to be used as toys in the hands of the radical Islamists. 

The greatness of a nation is proven by how it treats its own minorities. Pakistan has miserably failed in this respect. An Islamic republic is supposed to follow the real Islam and protect the rights of minorities, but, in reality, Pakistan is failing in this regard.

The western democratic countries, in general, are keeping mum on this matter to receive the support of Pakistan in their fight against terrorism. Their deafening silence is going against the minorities’ rights in Pakistan.