UK MP expresses concerns over human rights abuses of minority religious groups in Pakistan

UK’s Member of Parliament for Strangford and Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for International Freedom of Religion or Belief, Jim Shannon, disapproved of the lack of action by the Pakistani government to solve the issue.

Shannon said the condition of minorities in Pakistan has deteriorated over the past five years.

Shannon earlier visited Pakistan in 2018 and 2023.

"I visited Pakistan on two occasions in 2018 and 2023. I would love to say that things have changed in Pakistan in those intervening five years, but they have not. Indeed, they have got worse, and I will go into more detail on that as we move forward," he was quoted as saying by ANI.

“Minority students are forced to study Islamic content, isolating them further in a society already fraught with prejudice. Economic discrimination compounds those challenges. Non-Muslims are often relegated to low-status jobs with limited opportunity for social or professional mobility. That systematic marginalisation keeps them in a cycle of poverty and vulnerability,” he said.

“Christians, Hindus, Ahmadis and Shia Muslims face widespread discrimination, persecution and violence on a regular basis. The legislative and societal frameworks in Pakistan have created an environment where intolerance thrives. If we let something happen once, twice, three times, then 10 times, it becomes the norm. That is what has happened to religious minorities in Pakistan,” he said.