Religious discrimination in Pakistan is a severe issue. Non-Muslims citizens of Pakistan are treated as separate and unequal citizens in a form of religious apartheid. The concern is to call attention to the situation of religious minorities. The constitutions and laws of the land are overwhelmingly favourable to Islam, the state religion, and the Muslims. Muslim citizens are not easy with the presence amongst Hindus and Christians. Some Muslims do not even like to eat and drink with them. They do not share their utensils. They think that their glass gets filthy by non-Muslim’s use. They are at time refused jobs, loans, housing and other comparable things simply because of their choice of religious faith. Hindus and Christians in Pakistan are not given due respect. They are forced to work on menial jobs like working as janitorial staff and are paid less. Hindus girls in Pakistan are molested and abducted. They are forcefully converted to Islam and forced to marry to their abductors. Christian churches are frequently attacked. Non-Muslim inhabitants of Pakistan are usually killed every next day by the Islamist fundamentalist extremists while the government remains mostly a silent spectator often only making statements which condemn the ruthless act of violence by the extremists but taking no real concrete action.
SARAH ALI BHUTTO
Karachi
