Critical Analysis of Political Security of

Christians in Pakistan
Umbreen Javaid
Iqra Jalal

Pakistan’s creation in the name of Muslim nationalism have far

reaching impacts on the subsequent political, economic and socio-
cultural dynamics of state and society. The political construction
of the newly born state has taken its main guidelines from Islamic
interpretations of the polity. As envisaged in the constitutional
debates in Pakistan’s history, there have been considerably diverse
views on the nature and scope of an Islamic Polity. There have
been various political implications of this lack of consensus; most
important among them is the position of religious minorities in a
proposed Islamic state. Christians, as largest minority in Pakistan,
bore the brunt of this confusion. The basic question of this paper is
to understand the relationship of state and its construct on
provisions of fundamental political security of rights for Christian
community in Pakistan. The answer to this question has to be
understood in broad debates ranging from constitutional issues to
the actual working of state institutions, their composition and
exposition. The fundamental argument in this paper is that state of
Pakistan has given little consideration to the political security of
Christians in Pakistan owing to their meager role in majoritarian
democratic norms in Pakistan, coupled with (mis) interpretation of
religion.

Introduction:

Pakistan is predominantly a Muslim majority state carved out from India in 1947.
However, there was significant number of non-Muslims living in Pakistan, though
a fraction of total population. Most of religious minorities (the term itself was
controversial in early years of Pakistan’s history though and instead term non-
Muslims was preferred) lived in East Pakistan (present day Bangladesh). However,
since the separation of East Pakistan, percentage of religious minorities in Pakistan
has reduced significantly. Pakistan, since its inception has faced multitude of
problems to face. One of the major issues confronting the state was to provide a
role of religion in statecraft. The policymakers were divided in two main camps:
Critical Analysis of Political Security of Christians in Pakistan

those who favored a greater role for religion in Pakistan laws and policies. Others
believed in largely secular orientation of state. This debate has since been only
intensified, though former gain significant control on state narrative since 1980s.
The entire debate has had a significant impact on the fate of religious minorities in
Pakistan, most of who face a perpetual sense of insecurity at multiple fronts from
multiple sources, sometimes from even state. Christian community, the largest
community in Pakistan, bears the brunt of this problem.

Theoretical Framework

United Nations Development Program's Human Development Report is the

pioneer record in displaying the possibility of Human security as a particular
appearance of security digressing from conventional thought of security in
mankind's history. Reasonably and operationally, the report categorizes human
security in seven main points: Food, Personal, Health, Community, Political,
Economic and Environmental security.1

Economic security expects occupations to verify a guaranteed essential income.

Food security implies that all individuals consistently have both physical and
monetary access to fundamental sustenance. Health security is to give sound
condition and wellbeing administrations to address the difficulties of poor
nourishment, irresistible infections, etc. Environmental security is concerned about
absence of access to clean water, deforestation, salinization, air contamination,
cataclysmic events, etc. Personal security is to shield human lives from dangers of
different sorts of brutality by states and different hostile individuals and
groups.2Community security is about dangers like harsh practices and ethnic
conflicts in customary groups. Political security implies the assurance of human
rights and democratization in a given society.

The report, in an extraordinary move, have focused on an individual’s security

concerns and moved away from traditional notion of state-centric security
concerns. Be that as it may, the idea isn't intended to scrap the conventional
methodology however it is intended to grow the extent of security and hence
enlarge traditional security. The report is based on two basic pillars: “Freedom
from fear”and “Freedom from want”.3

The focus of Human security is to protect and promote the rights and interests of
people in a state, which are normally not on the radar of states or international
community organizations. It is relevant to make reference to here that the essential
purpose behind such an idea is uniform and equivalent treatment of every one of
natives' rights with no religious, social, ethnic and racial predisposition. The idea
of human security has wide extension. It covers all the customary and non-
conventional security difficulties of the considerable number of networks alike.
Hence Kofi Annan (2005) has called attention to “the three pillars of this wider
28 Pakistan Vision Vol. 20 No. 2

conception of human security: freedom from want, freedom from fear, and
freedom to live in dignity”.

POLITICAL SECURITY

UN report on Human Development of 1994, laid down the basic criteria to define
political security in a very brief worded sentence. It was characterized as the
counteractive action of government restraint, orderly infringement of human rights
and dangers from militarization. This was expected to build up a plan that would
ensure individuals against states that kept on repeating political suppressions,
orderly torment, abuse and vanishing. However, the idea of political security has
since been developed in both theory and practice.4 This has been done through a
continuous discussion, which has been done mainly due to international crisis and
rapidly changing geo-strategic environment rather than the parameters set out in
the 1994 HDR report.5 By and by, accomplishing the desire of the political security
motivation has turned out to be attached to inquiries of compassionate help and
mediation. This was barely translated all through the 1990s as a discussion
encompassing the nature and authenticity of compassionate intercession. During
the 2000s, this was regulated into a Responsibility to Protect (R2P) motivation,
just to see the second decade of the twenty-first century uncover the requirement
for an undeniably progressively intricate and nuanced discussion about how this
ought to be done.

The connection between human security and political security is, in theory, a fairly
straightforward explanation. Quoting the UN report on Human Development “One
of the most important aspects of human security is that people should be able to
live in a society that honours their basic human rights”.6 Therefore, while it is
gotten insight in security thinks about that the idea of human security is hard to
characterize, its subcategory of political security has come to mean, at a
fundamental dimension, the aversion of government constraint, methodical
infringement of human rights and dangers from militarization. The report was
generally positive about the advancement that had been made in such manner all
through the 1980s – a “decade of democratic transition – as many military
dictatorships ceded power to civilian administrations and one-party states opened
themselves up to multi-party elections’. However, as the report made clear, there
was still ‘a long way to go in protecting people against state repression”.7 The
report indicated a 1993 overview by Amnesty International featuring 110 nations
that still did political suppression, methodical torment, abuse and vanishing. It
additionally attracted consideration regarding the frequent infringement of human
rights executed in the midst of political distress.

For more than 20 years since the arrival of the 1994 HDR unmistakably
government suppression, methodical human rights misuse and militarization
continue unabated. All things considered, the archives require an emphasis on
Critical Analysis of Political Security of Christians in Pakistan

political security stays relevant in the present universal society. However, the
nature of that debate in both hypothetical and solid terms has been modified by
occasions and the universal condition.

Since the mid 1990s unmistakably the post-cold war conditions opened up the
likelihood for a developing hypothesis and routine with regards to political security
to rise. Under this specific circumstance, the 1994 UNHDR is critical for adding to
the more extensive talk about philanthropic mediation and Right to Protection.
With expanding dangers to political security obvious, from Rwanda through to
Syria, the universal network has endeavored to at any rate manage the hypothetical
and practical challenges. The present discussion for those conveying forward a
political security motivation does not encompass whether there is a R2P, yet rather
who can authentically approve intercession and in what conditions. It is inside this
setting of political security, philanthropic intercession and R2P have progressed
toward becoming piece of a talk and routine with regards to the global network. In
any case, there is still contestation over what precisely this implies. The 'new
legislative issues of insurance' is loaded with contradiction over the privilege to
mediation, how and when this ought to be practiced and under whose expert.

Literature Review:

An intriguing and an exhaustive work on the issue is that of Mr. A.D. Asimi's book
The Christian Minority in Pakistan: Problems and Prospects.8 The book is an
incredible record of Christian community in Pakistan. Indeed, this is the first inside
and investigative work on any minority network in Pakistan and is genuinely
spearheading effort. The book smoothly exhibits the instance and issues of concern
by religious group in Pakistan. It gives three classifications of issues looked by
Christians in Pakistan. From the beginning, the book provides an explanation of
divide between Catholic and Protestant school of thoughts in Christianity. Also,
they come up short on any political and common top bound together authority that
can lead them and help them voice their worries to the political echelons and
Muslim-dominated society. In conclusion, there is detectable estrangement of
Christians in financial and political scene of Pakistan. The social, financial and
seclusion of Christians, brought about by numerous variables, created a parallel
society not the same as lion's share and subsequently an unmistakable separate
between standard social orders.

Theodore Gabriel’s masterpiece Christian Citizens in an Islamic State: The

Pakistan Experience is an insightful and comprehensive work on the issues and
challenges faced by Christians in Pakistan.9 The book gives an exhaustive,
methodical and inside analysis of role and place of Christians in Pakistan. The
book goes for investigating the endogenous and exogenous components for the
issues faced by Christians in Pakistan. The cause of miseries of Christians in
Pakistan and their flat and vertical relations with Pakistani state and society is very
30 Pakistan Vision Vol. 20 No. 2

much clarified and investigated. The author contends that Pakistani state's
treatment of Christian people group is an experiment of its general relations with
religious network in Pakistan.

The book in any case, neglects to give any experimental premise of the contention
exhibited and depends on minor hypothetical investigation. The work, then again
won't just investigate the writing yet additionally base the contention on
observational proof. Furthermore, the book covers the financial and political issues
of Christian community and neglects to see them in a broader general human
security issues in Pakistan.

In an interesting article Structural Violence and Christian Minority in Pakistan:

The monolithic Image to be blamed by M. Riaz and M. Wakil Khan,10 the authors
had thoroughly talked about and explained the issues faced by Christians in
Pakistan. The writers have had thoroughly investigated the treatment of religious
minorities specifically by various governments. It is contended that distinctive
military and some regular citizen governments have utilized religion and religious
estimations for their vested political, security and monetary interests. General Zia
ulHaq specifically is in charge of Islamization drive that prompted the
underestimation of and savagery against Christians in all walks of life. From that
point forward, religious minorities faced all sort of issues from physical harms to
institutional biases in Pakistan. The authors additionally recommend a few
measures to correct this issue toward the end.

The writer, regardless of covering wide-ranging issues described in the article,

overlooks the legal and political parts of issues faced by Christians in Pakistan. In
spite of the fact that he touches upon the issue of isolated and joint electorate for
minorities, the issues of political portrayal of minorities as a rule and that of
Christians specifically have to a great extent been missing from discourse.

A standout amongst the most extensive literature on Christian community in

Pakistan is a report titled ‘Review of Christians in Pakistan: Promoting change for
the future’ by Jubilee campaign in collaboration with Pakistan Christian Political
Foundation.11 The report is an in depth and detailed study of Christians in Pakistan,
their known inception, and their contemporary profile in Pakistan. The report gives
a definite record of reasons for the issues weathered by Christians in Pakistan in
contemporary times.

Regardless of the exhaustive subtleties, the report needs investigation and gives
progressively spellbinding in nature. The report is additionally more a stubborn bit
of composing because of absence of references for a great deal of subtleties given.
Critical Analysis of Political Security of Christians in Pakistan

Profile of Christians in Pakistan (References)

An exact Christian populace in contemporary Pakistan is hard to establish.

According to the official government figures dependent on a 1998 statistics,
Pakistan has about 2.1 million Christians; comprising some 1.6 percent of the all
out population.12 The figures discharged by the United States Central Intelligence
Agency in 2013, be that as it may, set Pakistan's Christians at 3.5 million or 1.8
percent of the complete offer of population. Of these, 60 percent are Catholics and
the rest of the 40 percent have a place with different Protestant sections.13Their
geographic spread is countrywide. They live in little pockets from the Punjab in the
East to Baluchistan in the West, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the North to Sind in
the South. Their greatest fixation, be that as it may, is in the area of Punjab.

There are 54 Christian towns in Punjab, and four in Sindh that are managed by
some of the Christian organizations. As indicated by information given by the
Ministry to National Harmony, there are 500 houses of worship for Christians in
Pakistan, 65 of which are in Lahore.

State of Christians in Pakistan

Christians in Pakistan are living under steady dread, vulnerability and with an
extraordinary agony of minimization in their very own property. They are being
mistreated and victimized intrinsically, socially, culturally, and financially ...
Protected and lawful issues [are] connected to the negative frames of mind of
government, police, legal executive, and [the] neighborhood dominant part of
Muslims towards Christians and other minority gatherings. Such gatherings are
viewed as badly arranged to Islamic standard instead of as full residents offering
upgrade of open life.14Police and neighborhood populations are tormenting
Christians, more often. Places of worship are being contaminated and land is being
taken from Christians who are then crashed into constrained work.

In Pakistan, religious minorities are confronting social marginalization as well.

Since its origin they have been prime casualty of religious scorn, destitution, lack
of education and against poor financial strategies of the state.15The social seclusion
process was hastened with the incorporation of a new Separate Electorate System
General Zia ul Haq regime. This system has not only marginalized religious
minorities in political sphere, it also weakened the already fragile political party
structures for them. The liberal political parties like PPP were adversely affected
by this new system. The religious plan forced by Zia made religious minorities a
simple prey to the religious radicals.

Using the process of Islamaization by General Zia ulHaq and others for vested
political interests, the agonies of the Christian in Pakistan are tremendous and
obvious all over the place and at each dimension. Despite the fact that the founder
32 Pakistan Vision Vol. 20 No. 2

of the country had said on August 11, 1947, "The religion has nothing to do with
state affairs" however at this point the religion of Islam has a commanding status
in the constitutionalized political, legal, social, social and administrative
frameworks.16Pakistan’s polity declared Islam to be the state religion for Pakistan.
Being upheld as the incomparable tradition that must be adhered to be the Islamic
Shariah.

The political and constitutional structures under Zia ul Haq’s regime, religious
minorities have clearly discriminated the citizens on the basis of religion and non-
Muslims have clear disadvantaged position in social, political and day to day life.
This is in spite of the fact that Christians accept and think about themselves to be
first residents of Pakistan. The present framework rates the Christians as peasants
and is essentially at the most minimal dimension. Logical consequence of these
developments is that top political institutions were inaccessible for Christians
politically and legally.17

Constitution provides for reservation of seats for non-Muslims in the parliament of

Pakistan. The number of seats reserved for Christians in the senate of Pakistan
stands at 6, however, in any elections we have little to no Christian presence in
parliament of Pakistan. Legally and officially, there are 5% reserved seats for all
the government jobs in Pakistan, however practically this is non-existent.

In 1971, with dismemberment of Pakistan with separation of East Pakistan, a

major chunk of non-Muslims including Christians were no longer part of
Pakistan’s polity. Pakistan turned into a socially solid, progressively Islamic state
with fewer religious minorities than ever. With the legislatures of Zulfiqar Ali
Bhutto and Zia-ul-Haq, all the more stringently Islamic laws changed Pakistan’s
polity and thus society.18

The administration conveys some verbal commitments and statements for the
protection of religious minorities in general and Christians in particular often
during or before any foreign dignitary visits the country or political leaderships go
abroad. These announcements are just verbally expressed words noticeable all
around.

There are some grave accusations from some Christian right groups that official
census if often manipulated to show reduced Christian population in order to give
them little or no space in political and administrative positions under the guard of
democratic majoritarianism. It is an interesting fact that there were four Christian
members in the first constituent assembly of Pakistan at the eve of Independence.
1973 constitution have reserved only six seats for Christians in the national
assembly. However, this number was decreased to four in national elections of
1985 in a house of 217 members. In national general elections of 2002 the all out
house comprised of 342 however Christian seats stayed four. It is a clear irony that
Critical Analysis of Political Security of Christians in Pakistan

successive governments have believed in official rhetoric that while Muslim

population was expanding exponentially, Christian population decreased or
remained stagnant.

Constitutional Status of Christians in Pakistan

Constitution of 1956

Pakistan was able to draft and enforced its first constitution in 1956. The
constitution was framed by the constituent assembly consisting of total of 80
members. It was second such assembly after first one was dissolved in 1954. There
were nine Christian member of this assembly: seven of these members from taken
from East Pakistan while one each was taken from Sindh and Punjab.

Under the constitution adult suffrage was adopted as principle of electorate with
minimum age to vote to be 21 years. Though constitution didn’t envisage any
discrimination in Pakistan on the basis of religion, there were several provisions of
the constitution that were interpreted in a way that it seems that minorities were
marginalized by this constitutional setup.19One of the major complains by minority
rights groups have been the denial of joint electorate facility that would have
brought them at par with Muslims co-citizens. That would mean that there were
two types of citizens in Pakistan: Muslims and non-Muslims having unequal
opportunities, thus beginning of discrimination and a direct contradiction to the
principles of democracy and the Jinnah’s vision as explained by him in August 11,
1947 speech to constituent assembly.20

One of the most important provision of the constitution was that no laws shall be
made against the teachings of Islam as explained in Holy Quran and Sunnah.
Under this provision various laws were promulgated that prohibited different
things drinking alcohol, gambling etc. it was stated that the purpose was to enable
Muslims to live their lives in accordance with their religious beliefs. However, the
constitution also guaranteed that it should not affect the rights of non-Muslims.

There are few provisions that directly limited the scope of political participation
for non-Muslims, including Christians in Pakistan. One of the major one was
putting a condition that only Muslims have the right to become President and
Prime Minister of Pakistan. So no matter how patriotic or capable non-Muslims
can be, is not eligible to reach to highest political office.21

To sum up, the constitution though clearly talks about protecting the rights of
minorities, but the very creation of the idea of ‘minority’ was something that
created a sense of deprivation and discrimination in the hearts and minds of non-
Muslims. The most part of the constitution seems to be addressing only to Muslims
and creates an impression that only real citizens in Pakistan or specially Muslims
34 Pakistan Vision Vol. 20 No. 2

and others either shouldn’t exist or too little to be ignored. It was for this reason
that non-Muslims community inside and outside the legislature, in particular
Christians, has vehemently opposed the anti-non-Muslim provisions of the
constitution.

Constitution of 1962

When the 1956 constitution was abrogated and General Ayub Khan imposed
Martial Law, he initiated a process of instituting a new constitutional setup in
Pakistan. A one-man constitution was thus promulgated in Pakistan in 1962 that
clearly lacked public backing at any level in any way. This constitution has dealt
with the issue of non-Muslims with more or less similar way as was done by the
previous constitution.22Two main striking aspects of this constitution were
promising the protection of all type of rights for non-Muslims community on the
one hand, while clearly barring them into national mainstream by limiting their
political choices at various levels on the other hand.23

Constitution of 1973

1973 constitution was framed by the elected assembly of Pakistan under the
leadership of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, leader of majority Pakistan People’s Party in
national assembly of Pakistan at that time.

As had become a ritual in Pakistan’s constitutional history, there was a similar

claim of providing adequate constitutional safeguards for the rights of non-
Muslims in a predominantly Muslim state where Islam was adopted as official
religion. Everything considered, the probability of a non-Muslim being picked
president or official does not rise, in light of the way that the substance of the
promise for two working environments can't plainly be for non-Muslim. Although
there is no constitutional bar for any non-Muslim to be elected as a member of
Pakistan’s legislature, none of them could ever do so from 1973 since the inception
of the constitution to 1999. One can understand how impossible is for any non-
Muslim to hold any key position in the parliament of Pakistan.

Christians in Pakistan are living under steady dread, vulnerability and with an
incredible torment of minimization in their own property. They are being
mistreated and victimized intrinsically, socially, socially, and monetarily ...
Established and lawful issues [are] connected to the negative frames of mind of
government, police, legal executive, and [the] nearby dominant part of Muslims
towards Christians and other minority gatherings. Holy places are being spoiled
and land is being taken from Christians who are then crashed into constrained
work, most of times.24

In Pakistan, religious minorities are confronting social seclusion since the

Critical Analysis of Political Security of Christians in Pakistan

beginning of their journey in Pakistan.They have been prime casualty of religious

disdain, destitution, absence of education and hostile to poor money related
arrangements of the state. The social seclusion was expedited with the presentation
of isolated race framework in Zia time.

Conclusion

Pakistan’s political history is ripe with grievances by different groups on the basis
of language, representation, resources, ethnicities etc. Political system’s response
to these challenges has largely been to correct itself and sometimes using coercion
that backfired. However, there is one issue that has largely been ignored by state,
issue of political security of religious minorities in general and that of Christians in
particular. Almost half of Pakistan’s modern political history has been military
rule. The non-Muslim minorities have to bear all types of trouble and problems
during civil and military rules alike, more or less.

Religious minorities have to face all sorts of problems during civilian and military
governments alike. Use of religion by different groups and state institutions have
posed enormous challenges for socio-economic and political challenges to
Christian minority in Pakistan. They have not only been victims of misuse of some
of religious laws, they also have little or no role in the law-making process that
influences them. System of electorate has undermined their status as equal citizens
of Pakistan. Their seclusion from national mainstream and resultant political and
social insecurity has worsened over the period of time that needs an immediate
attention by policy makers to make Pakistan an inclusive pluralistic democracy as
envisioned by the founders of Pakistan.
36 Pakistan Vision Vol. 20 No. 2

Notes and References

1
UNDP Report 1994, pp. 24-25
2
Yu-tai Tsai, The Emergence of Human Security: A Constructivist View,
(International Journal of Peace Studies, Volume 14, Number 2,
Autumn/Winter 2009), p. 21
3
Ibid, p. 27
4
Ibid, p. 28
5
UNDP, Op. Cite. P. 26
6
Ibid, p. 28
7
Ibid, p. 29
8
Asimi, A.D., The Christian Minority in Pakistan: Problems and Prospects,
(Winnipeg: World Alive Press, 2010).
9
Gabriel, T, Christian citizens in an Islamic state: The Pakistan experience.
(Burlington, VT: Ashgates, 2007).
10
Muhammad Riaz& M. Wakil Khan, Structural Violence and Christian
Minority in Pakistan: The Monolithic Image, (Dialogue, Vol. X, No. 4, 2015).
11
MirjamBos, Review of Christians in Pakistan: Promoting change for future.
(UK: Jubillee Campaign, 2016).
12
Iftikhar H. Malik, Religious Minorities in Pakistan. (London, UK: MRG,
2005)
13
MirjamBos, Op. Cit. p. 23.
14
Ibid, p. 24
15
Iftikhar H Malik, Op. Cit. p. 11
16
Ibid. p. 12
17
MirjamBos, Op. Cit. p. 19.
18
Iftikhar H Malik, Op. Cit. p. 13
19
Tariq Rahman, Pakistan’s policies and practices towards the religious
minorities. (South Asian History and Culture, 3(2), 2012), p. 304.
20
Hamid Khan, Constitutional and Political History of Pakistan, (Karachi:
Oxford University Press, 2017). P. 230.
21
Tariq Rehman, Op. Cit. p. 306.
22
Ibid. p. 310.
23
Hamid Khan, Op. Cit. p. 310.
24
Ibid. p. 311