APPG for Pakistani Minorities

We are a cross-party group of Parliamentarians who believe that freedom of religion or belief is a fundamental human right. Freedom of religion or belief has been guaranteed by international human rights law as well as by the Constitution of Pakistan. Religious Freedom as a fundamental human right was endorsed by Quaid-e-Azam, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, in his speech to Pakistan’s first Constituent Assembly in 1947, but over the years succeeding governments have either ignored it or curtailed this fundamental right. Furthermore, over time, politicisation of religion and the enhancement of militancy, and increasing religious intolerance fostered by draconian laws and policies have led to victimisation and ostracisation of religious minorities in Pakistan.