May 26, 2025
By Xari Jalil
LAHORE
In a powerful joint letter to the Pakistani Government, seven UN human rights experts have voiced serious alarm over a surge in attacks, killings, hate speech, and systemic discrimination against religious minorities in Pakistan, notably targeting the Ahmadiyya community and Christians. The letter dated March 2025 has been made public in May.
The letter by Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups under the UN Human Rights Council, draws attention to a series of brutal murders that took place last year in 2024. These included that of Ameer Hassan Mardani, a 40-year-old Ahmadi who was shot dead in District Mirpurkhas, and Tayab Ahmad, killed by an axe-wielding assailant in Rawalpindi. There was also a condemnation of other serious crimes against other minorities including the killing of at least 38 Shia-Muslims in Kurram over the initial months of the year.
The UN experts highlighted an alarming pattern of violence, desecration of places of worship, and vandalization of graves of the Ahmadiyya community. In one incident, a historic place of worship in Daska, built by a prominent Ahmadi leader, was razed under official supervision after power was cut to the area. Police in various regions have reportedly demolished mosque minarets, desecrated graveyards, and arrested community members, often acting on pressure from the extremist religio-political group Tehreek e Labbaik Pakistan (TLP).
Misuse of Blasphemy laws
The letter also underscores concerns over Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, noting that they are used disproportionately against religious minorities. The case of Bushra Abid, arrested for offering religious instruction, and the ongoing detention of Anwar Kenneth, sentenced to death on blasphemy charges despite serious mental health concerns, were cited as emblematic of the systemic abuse of these laws.
According to the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR), blasphemy accusations have surged in the last two years, with the Commission’s report citing “systemic flaws, serious violations of fundamental rights, and patterns of entrapment and injustice.”
The UN rapporteurs warned that these attacks and abuses violate key international human rights obligations, including the right to life, freedom of thought, conscience and religion, minority rights, and the prohibition of torture and inhumane treatment. The document calls on the Pakistani government to investigate these incidents in accordance with international standards and to repeal or amend blasphemy laws that fuel violence and discrimination.
The letter further demands urgent action to protect women from intersecting discrimination, noting that many of those imprisoned on blasphemy charges are women who face additional gendered harms, including social abandonment and violence.
Recommendations
Expressing deep concern at the government’s alleged complicity and failure to protect religious minorities, the UN experts urged Pakistani authorities to:
-
Conduct thorough, impartial investigations into the killings of Hassan, Ahmad and all others who have been killed for their faith;
-
Address the systemic misuse of blasphemy laws and ensure they do not violate ‘freedom of religion’;
-
Halt the destruction of Ahmadiyya places of worship and cemeteries;
-
Counteract extremist hate speech by groups like TLP.
-
Provide justice, reparations, and ensure non-repetition for victims.
The letter concluded that these allegations, if substantiated, constituted grave violations of international law, and warned that the UN experts might publicly express these concerns if no satisfactory response is received within 60 days.