PAKISTAN: The EU should suspend its trade privileges. Why? Massive human rights abuses in March
The bad deal EU-Pakistan “Trade privileges in exchange of human rights progress” called The GSP+ should be suspended as long as an end is not put to the massive human rights violations.
HRWF (31.03.2025) – For a decade, Pakistan has been benefiting from a privileged access (reduced or zero duties) to the about 450 million consumers of the EU market. In this framework, Pakistan’s products enter the EU market with 0% duties across approximately 2/3 of all EU tariff lines. From 2014 to 2022, Pakistan’s exports to the EU almost doubled, from 8.3 billion EUR to almost 15 billion EUR.
In exchange, Pakistan pledged to sign and implement 27 international treaties regarding labour rights, good governance and human rights. This EU scheme is known as the GSP+.
Since the inception of this agreement, Pakistan has failed to demonstrate a tangible progress on the implementation of international human rights standards. Quite the contrary, it goes on worsening as this digest of human rights violations perpetrated shows.
It is time for the EU to take sanctions on Pakistan, such as the suspension of its GSP+ status as long as there is no robust progress in the area of human rights. It is in the interest of the EU, the EU taxpayers, the EU enterprises and of course, Pakistani citizens.
US body recommends sanctions on Pakistan for rights violations
Christian Daily International (27.03.2025) – A bipartisan U.S. government body that monitors religious freedom worldwide this week recommended imposing sanctions on Pakistan for human rights violations, particularly abuse of harsh blasphemy laws and treatment of religious minorities in the country.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) stated that religious freedom in Pakistan continued to deteriorate in 2024, according to its annual report released on Tuesday (March 25).
Religious minority communities – particularly Christians, Hindus and Shia Muslims and Ahmadis – continued to bear the brunt of persecution and prosecutions under Pakistan’s strict blasphemy law and to suffer violence from both the police and mobs, while those responsible for such violence rarely faced legal consequences, the report stated.
Rights group slams ‘alarming abuses’ faced by Pakistani minorities
UCA News (27.03.2025) – A human rights group says action must be taken to address impunity and a lack of justice amid a series of abuses leveled against members of religious minorities — mostly Christians — in Pakistan.
In a March 26 statement, Human Rights Forum Pakistan (HRFP) said a recent survey and fact-finding missions it conducted revealed that religious minorities continue to face “a consistent and alarming pattern of abuse and persecution.”
The group listed 16 such cases against minorities in the first three months of this year and said most were not independently investigated and justice remains wanting.
Most cases involved abduction, forced conversion of Christian girls to Islam, forced marriage, and allegations of blasphemy against Christian men and women.
Pakistan, Ahmadis detained for praying remain in jail, including minors
Bitter Winter (25.03.2025) – “Bitter Winter” reported that on March 5 bail was denied to 22 members of the Ahmadiyya community, who had been arrested on February 28 in Daska, Punjab, just for praying inside their house of worship on Friday. The arrests followed a campaign instigated by the extremist religious-political organization Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), to which “Bitter Winter” devoted a series of seven articles.
Twenty days have passed since, and despite protests by international organizations the Ahmadis remain in jail, including several minors and one person with intellectual disability.
Mass desecration of Ahmadi Muslim graves in Kotli, Azad Kashmir
APPG Ahmadiyyah Muslim Community (25.03.2025) – On the early morning of 21 March, an Ahmadi Muslim cemetery in Kotli, Azad Kashmir, was targeted by unidentified individuals who defaced or destroyed 76 gravestones. The attack occurred during a reported power outage, making it easier for the perpetrators to operate undetected.
The cemetery, established prior to the 1984 anti-Ahmadi laws, is enclosed by a boundary wall.
Local authorities have not made any arrests, and investigations into the culprits have been inconclusive so far.
This incident is part of a broader pattern of grave desecrations: 169 Ahmadi Muslim graves have been vandalised in eight separate attacks across Pakistan in 2025 alone.
Christian labourer’s throat slit in Sheikhupura Factory after blasphemy allegation and faith dispute
CrosswayTV (22.03.2025) – A 22-year-old Christian worker was critically injured in what appears to be a religiously motivated attack at a paper mill in Sheikhupura. The victim, Waqas Masih, was reportedly assaulted by a Muslim colleague following alleged false accusations of blasphemy and pressure to convert to Islam.
The incident occurred on Friday afternoon, March 21, when Riyasat visited his son at the factory. While the two were conversing in a private room, Zohaib Iftikhar, a shift in-charge at the mill, allegedly called Waqas over under a pretext. Eyewitness accounts suggest that Zohaib questioned Waqas about his religion and whether he had accepted Islam. Upon receiving a firm refusal, he allegedly pulled out a sharp cardboard-cutting blade and slashed Waqas’s throat, aiming for the jugular.
Waqas collapsed on the spot, gravely wounded and covered in blood. His father described the scene as “horrific,” saying his son sustained deep injuries to the neck. The suspect, Zohaib, reportedly fled immediately.
Bail denied to Ahmadis arrested in Pakistan for praying on Friday
Bitter Winter (13.03.2025) – Under the pressure of the radical Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan, members of the Ahmadiyya community are now prohibited even from praying in their own houses of worship.
Members of the heavily persecuted Ahmadiyya community in Pakistan are now being arrested just for praying inside their houses of worship. This is part of a campaign instigated by the extremist religious-political organization Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), to which “Bitter Winter” devoted a series of seven articles. While it is true that the Pakistani government tries to contain TLP extremism, it is also intimated by its threats of riots. In the case of the Ahmadis, police and courts often end up siding with TLP.
Pakistan: Report claims religious minorities’ situation is becoming worse
Bitter Winter (12.03.2025) – The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan notes that discrimination, forced conversion, blasphemy accusations, and violent attacks increased in 2023 and 2024.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan’s report “Under Siege: Freedom of Religion or Belief in 2023/24,” released last week, highlights ongoing attacks on religious minorities, including mob violence, desecration of Ahmadiyya graves, arbitrary detentions, and forced conversions of Hindu and Christian women and girls. It notes that the situation worsened in 2023 and 2024 with respect to previous years.
Christian laborer publicly humilitated by landlords in Faisalabad over wood-cutting dispute
Claas (10.03.2025) – In a shocking incident of mob injustice, a 30-year-old Christian laborer, Wasif George, was brutally humiliated by local landlords in Chak 110 GB, Chak Jhumra district, Faisalabad, after being accused of cutting wood unknowingly. The victim was allegedly tortured, forcibly shaved, blackened in the face, and paraded through the village on the back of a donkey.
Pakistani Christian girl’s forced marriage annulled in win for religious freedom
ADF International (10.03.2025) – Shahida Bibi is now free to return home to her father and to her Christian faith after a court in Pakistan annulled her forced conversion and marriage to her stepfather’s brother. Bibi was 11 years old when her mother eloped with a Muslim man, who then “gave” Bibi to his brother. Bibi went on to give birth to two children, and the brother contracted Islamic Nikah, or a marriage union, to Bibi when she turned 18 in order to escape prosecution under the anti-child marriage law.
In February 2025, a civil court in Bahawalpur, Pakistan issued a decree in favor of Bibi and ordered that Bibi’s forced marriage be dissolved on all identification documents. Bibi was issued new documents that correctly state her religion as Christianity. ADF International and allied attorneys supported Bibi’s legal defence.
Police free Christian girl from kidnapper in Pakistan
Christian Daily International (10.03.2025) – A 12-year-old Christian girl reunited with her parents last week after she was abducted two months prior by a Muslim neighbor who forcibly converted her to Islam and coerced her into marrying him, sources said.
Lahore Police with help from Sindh Police on 5 March raided an outhouse in a village of Shaheed Benazirabad, recovered Saba and arrested Ali, the sources said. Officers brought her back to Lahore the next day.
Justice Prevails: 14-Year-Old Christian Girl Rescued and Reunited with Her Family in Sialkot
Claas (10.03.2025) – After nearly two months of legal battles and uncertainty, 14-year-old Christian girl Saneha Sharif has been rescued and reunited with her parents.
Saneha was kidnapped on January 9, 2025, in the Korpur area of Sialkot, Punjab, by a group of individuals. According to her father, Sharif Masih, an eyewitness saw the abductors forcing Saneha into a vehicle before fleeing the scene.
Following the registration of a First Information Report (FIR), police arrested Muhammad Shabbir, who was placed under six-day physical remand for interrogation.
Weeks of legal proceedings and advocacy led to a breakthrough when police recovered Saneha on February 19, 2025, in a late-night operation. She was immediately placed under protective custody and presented before a magistrate’s court the following morning. However, due to the psychological trauma and intimidation she had endured, she was unable to articulate her experience clearly. Instead of being released to her parents, she was sent to Darul Aman, a government shelter home, pending further legal proceedings.
Demolition of minarets and attacks on Ahmadis in Bahawalnagar
International Human Rights Desk (08.03. 2025) – On 8 March 2025, authorities demolished the minarets of an Ahmadiyya mosque in Chak No.166 Murad, Bahawalnagar District, under pressure from an aggressive mob led by Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) activists.
The incident began when a local resident named Amjad died following a dispute between two groups unaffiliated with the community. Despite the complete absence of Ahmadi involvement in the death, the TLP exploited the situation to incite violence against the community, resulting in the demolition of religious structures, looting of Ahmadi homes, and fabricated criminal charges against community members.
14-Year-Old Christian girl rescued and reunited with her family in Sialkot
Pakistan Christian Post (07.03.2025) – Sialkot: After nearly two months of uncertainty and legal battles, 14-year-old Christian girl Saneha Sharif has been successfully rescued and reunited with her parents. Her case, which has drawn significant national and international attention, underscores the challenges faced by religious minorities in Pakistan and the crucial role of legal advocacy in securing justice.
Saneha was kidnapped on January 9, 2025, in the Korpur area of Sialkot, Punjab, by a group of individuals, including Samina (wife of Muhammad Usman), Muhammad Dildar Hassnain, and Muhammad Shabbir. According to her father, Sharif Masih, an eyewitness saw the abductors forcibly placing her into a vehicle before fleeing the scene. In response, the Edge Foundation, a human rights organization advocating for persecuted minorities, stepped in to assist the family in their pursuit of justice.
Christian in Pakistan beaten, shaved and paraded through village
Christian Daily (06.03.2025) – Muslim landowners in Pakistan abducted a Christian laborer, shaved his head and facial hair, blackened his face and paraded him on the back of a donkey for allegedly stealing wood from their property, his brother said.
On the assumption that impoverished Catholics in Muslim-majority Pakistan have little chance of obtaining legal defense, at least seven Muslims attacked Wasif George, 34, of village Chak 110-GB Chak Jhumra in Faisalabad District, Punjab Province, after he had gone to gather wood the evening of Feb. 27.
Christian mother in Pakistan abducted, forcibly converted/married
Christian Daily International (05.03.2025) – A Muslim in Pakistan, Muhammad Asif Sadiq, who twice abducted a Christian mother raped her, fraudulently converted her to Islam and fabricated an Islamic marriage.
She said Sadiq took her to some place to fill out some forms and fraudulently got her thumb impression on documents.
“I’m not literate, so I had no idea that he had obtained my thumbprints to prepare false religious conversion and marriage certificates,” she said. “He then forcibly took me to his house, where his wife and two children were also present. He locked me in a room where I was kept hostage for eight days.”
Assassinated lawmaker in Pakistan honored on anniversary of death
Christian Daily International (04.03.2025) – Christian rights activists and church leaders in Pakistan vowed to step up efforts to protect persecuted Christians as they honored the memory of assassinated Christian politician Shahbaz Bhatti on Sunday (March 2), the 14th anniversary of his death.
Bhatti, an ardent advocate for a diverse, multicultural and multireligious society, was assassinated on March 2, 2011, by Taliban militants outside his mother’s home in the federal capital, Islamabad.
The Catholic government minister was a vocal critic of the misuse of the blasphemy laws and was known as a champion of religious freedom. He was also instrumental in creating 5-percent job quotas in government departments for religious minorities.
Minorities Alliance Pakistan calls for justice and equal rights on Shabaz Bhatti’s death anniversary
The White Posts (04.03.2025) – The Minorities Alliance Pakistan (MAP) reaffirmed its commitment to justice, democracy, religious freedom, and the right of minority parliamentarians to be elected, emphasizing the need for constitutional reforms to ensure equal rights for all citizens. Speaking at a conference marking the 14th death anniversary of former Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti, MAP Chairman Akmal Bhatti criticized the ruling elite for neglecting marginalized communities, particularly religious minorities, in the 26th Constitutional Amendment.
Bhatti pointed out the absence of minority representation in the newly constituted judicial commission and the recent appointment of judges in all high courts. He argued that decision-making institutions have effectively become “no-go areas” for minorities, further marginalizing them in national governance.
WIN in Pakistan for Christian fraudulently “converted” by employer in attempted enslavement
ADF International (04.03.2025) – Sufyan Masih, a 24-year-old Pakistani Christian, was fraudulently designated as a Muslim on his National Identity Card by his employer to falsely “convert” and enslave him.
Authorities in Pakistan systemically deny and delay changes to ID cards with significant human rights implications. Backed by ADF International, Masih’s identity card has been corrected to “Christian” after a 6–year legal ordeal.
Intensifying religious persecution in Punjab threatens mass violence
HR Committee (01.03.2025) – The International Human Rights Committee (IHRC) is urgently appealing to Pakistani authorities and members of the international community to intervene as Ahmadi citizens face unprecedented threats to their religious freedom and right to life itself.
A seemingly coordinated series of expulsions from mosques and arrest warrants for Ahmadis 28 February has resulted in Ahmadi citizens afraid not only to worship and displaced from their homes for fear of violence.
Sargodha
A case has been registered under the accusation of offering the Friday Prayers against 23 Ahmadis of Ahmadiyya Community Chak 71 Janubi (South), district Sargodha on 28th February 2025 under FIR No. 200 under Section 298-B and 298-C. The complaint, filed by Furqan Zahid, accused the Ahmadis of gathering unlawfully for worship. As of this writing, no arrests have been made. Extremists have staged a sit-in outside the Police Station Bhagtanwala, demanding that the Worship Place be sealed along with registering the case.
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