This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Future Perfect at Sunrise (talk | contribs) at 10:41, 7 June 2013 (emergency brake: blanket rv back to 9 May, before Mrt started messing the article up. If you want to re-expand coverage of human rights issues, rewrite that from scratch.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 10:41, 7 June 2013 by Future Perfect at Sunrise (talk | contribs) (emergency brake: blanket rv back to 9 May, before Mrt started messing the article up. If you want to re-expand coverage of human rights issues, rewrite that from scratch.)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Pakistan is a very diverse society with various ethnic and religious minorities. Some minorities in Pakistan are facing discrimination according to Indian writer Ashish Sen. Condition of minorities deteriorated sharply in 2012, while the government remained unwilling or unable to provide protection to the country's minorities.
Afghan
Ahmadi
Christians
Hindus
Kalash
The Kalash or Kalasha, are an ethnic group of the Hindu Kush, settling in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. They speak the Kalash language, a member of the Dardic family. The culture of Kalash people is unique and differs drastically from the various ethnic groups surrounding them. They are polytheists and nature plays a highly significant and spiritual role in their daily life. As part of their religious tradition, sacrifices are offered and festivals held to give thanks for the abundant resources of their three valleys. The Kalash pantheon is the last untouched, living representative of Indo-European mythology.
Chitralis
The people of Chitral the northernmost part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa belong mostly to the Khow ethnic group, but there are more than ten other ethnic groups represented in Chitral. Despite their diverse ethnic, religious and linguistic backgrounds they have a strong sense of being Chitrali and they share a common culture and use Khowar as a lingua franca. The State of Chitral used to be a Princely State until its amalgamation into Pakistan in 1969.
1998 Census
According to the most recent (1998) census conducted by the Government of Pakistan, Hindus make up 1.20% of the population and Christians (Protestant and Roman Catholic) 1.9%, or around 2.3 million people. Other estimates put the numbers higher. Historically, there was also a small contingent of Jews in Pakistan most of whom left in the 1960s, their numbers are estimated to be between 1000-5000 predominantly in the city of Karachi.
Religious Freedom Report 2002
The U.S. State Department's International Religious Freedom Report 2002 estimates the Shi'a population between 10-12%, among which around 900,000 are Ismailis which is a sect of Shi'i Muslims and who pay tribute to their living spiritual leader, the Aga Khan. It also lists Christians at 2.09 million; Ahmadis at 286,000, Hindus at 1.03 million; Parsis, Buddhists, and Sikhs at 20,000 each; and Baha'is at 50,000-100,000.
Atheists and agnostics
The numbers of those who do not profess any faith (such as atheists and agnostics) is not known.
See also
References
- Sen, Ashish Kumar (30 April 2013). "Pakistan tops worst list for religious freedom". The Washington Times. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
- "US report speaks of 'crisis for minorities'". Dawn. AFP. 2 May 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
A US government-appointed panel urged Washington on Tuesday to step up pressure on Pakistan over religious freedom, alleging that risks to its minorities have reached a crisis level.
- "Security forces allowing extremists to attack minorities: HRW". Dawn. 2 Feb 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
"The Human Rights Watch has accused the government of having failed to act against abuses committed by security and intelligence agencies which are letting extremist groups to attack religious minorities....Pakistan's human rights crisis worsened markedly in 2012 with religious minorities bearing the brunt of killings and repression," said Ali Dayan Hasan, Pakistan Director of Human Rights Watch.
External links
- Jews in Pakistan. An article by Prof. Adil Najam of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University.
