The United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) has issued a critical report on Pakistan’s human rights record, calling for urgent reforms to address widespread discrimination, violence, and constraints on freedoms, particularly impacting religious minorities, journalists, and activists.

The report, which also evaluated rights practices in Ecuador, France, Greece, Iceland, and Turkiye, highlights significant concerns in Pakistan. The Committee expressed alarm over a sharp rise in discrimination, hate speech, and hate crimes targeting minority communities, including Christians, Ahmadis, Hindus, and Sikhs. It documented incidents involving the destruction of places of worship, desecration of cemeteries, and escalating mob violence and harassment.

Pakistan’s stringent blasphemy laws, which carry severe penalties, including the death penalty, were cited as a major contributor to religious persecution. The report pointed to cases of alleged entrapment targeting young people accused of online blasphemy under cybercrime laws.

The UNHRC has called on Pakistan to urgently curb violence and discrimination against religious minorities and to hold perpetrators accountable. The Committee also recommended repealing or amending blasphemy laws to bring them in line with international human rights standards and urged Pakistan to stop prosecuting individuals for blasphemy under cybercrime laws like the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act.

The report also raised serious concerns over the treatment of journalists and human rights defenders in Pakistan. Despite the introduction of the Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals Act in 2021, the UN Committee noted continued threats to press freedom, including enforced disappearances, torture, killings, and intimidation of journalists. Internet shutdowns and censorship of social media platforms were also cited as major issues.

The UN body called on Pakistan to investigate abuses against journalists and activists, ensure justice for affected individuals, and discontinue restrictive measures like internet blockages. It recommended that defamation, blasphemy, sedition, and counter-terrorism laws not be misused to stifle freedom of expression or dissent.

The Committee’s findings underscore the need for Pakistan to adopt stringent safeguards for human rights, particularly for vulnerable groups, in alignment with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).