Pakistan: Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP) demands for protection of minorities, their properties and worship places. The highly concerned issues are of recent attacks on Churches, Hindus temples, Ahmadiyya’s Mosques, minorities towns and the grabbing of their, agricultural lands, homes, graveyards, worship places and other properties as well. The violations are increasing day by day, but there are no strategies or policy to stop such violations, HRFP added.

Azam Khan, a 70 year old Christian of district Jhang is a recent example whose agricultural land has been grabbed, the court has ordered for ownership, but he is under threats to step back. The land possessed by area’s landlords with the support of religious and political figures with Muhammad Ifran and Muhammad Riaz etc., who directly warned to Azam Khan that a Christian could not be a landlord in their area. The local authorities also helped and provided aid to those who grabbed the land, Azam Khan alleged.

Azam khan’s land ownership is rooted from 1995 when he bought that after completing all legal processes with the local government. After a few years of getting ownership, the problems started to arise with the local religious and political authorities.

Since 2013, Azam Khan’s lands grabbing case is in a court’s proceedings while the perpetrators Muhammad Irfan and Muhammad Riaz have been growing sugar cane and other crops in the fields after grabbing that.

After longer court proceedings, in 2024 Lahore High Court has directed local authorities to implement the rights of ownership to Azam Khan but there are no developments yet due to influence of the perpetrators.

Azam Khan visited HRFP office and alleged that the local authorities helped the perpetrators in grabbing of his land being soft target as Christian.

As per Lahore High Court’s direction, lastly, the District Officer/ Deputy Commissioner called both parties on 3 April 2024 where Azam Khan appeared with legal counsel M.Zafar Iqbal and HRFP team but still there are no developments.

During an earlier hearing on 26 March 2024, Azam Khan was threatened to not come for next hearings if he & family wants to avoid any consequences, like blasphemy allegations or any other kind of religious persecution, they warned him directly.

Azam Khan is afraid for the next coming hearing on 18 April 2024 which is in Lahore High Court where he will tell the court that there are no developments by local authorities, District Officer/ Deputy Commissioner regarding the implementation of ownership of land.

Azam Khan shared further with HRFP that he has legal ownership of the land and that could be verified from any department, but no authority is willing to help in returning his land back to him. He is afraid that if a shrine and Mosque is built there, no one would be able to take the land back to him.

Azam Khan said that it is feeling like begging for his rights at the age of 70, he and family also could not work in threats, and he has physical problems as well.

Naveed Walter president of Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP) said that the land grabbing of minorities is not a new issue in Pakistan, because there are many incidents when same situation has occurred in the past. Particularly the Christians, Hindu's and Ahamdiyya’s homes, worship places, graveyards and other properties have been occupied, vandalized, and blazed. The easiest way for them is to make their permanent possession by establishing a religious building on the lands and properties they occupied, he added. Naveed Walter reminded that HRFP have experienced in many cases like a D-type colony Faisalabad graveyard case where the court even orders but that has not been implemented yet, he added. He said in another case of Tehsil Samundri , a victim’s agriculture’s land was occupied by a shrine with grave, and on trying to remove that the victims were accused of blasphemy while the grave was revealed empty, he added.

Naveed Walter further added, Azam Khan’s case could be a test case to take back his land and bring the culprits to court and give justice to Azam Khan and family. He appealed to the authorities to take strict actions against the religious and political actors who are involved in the issues and supporting such acts, he added.

Naveed Walter said Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP) fact finings reports has revealed the series of recent cases reported from the fields by HRFP’s volunteers, regional coordinators and came through HRFP's REAT Helpline (0800 09494). As per HRFP’s Report of the Year 2023, out of 905 phone calls; 866 phone calls have brought the cases of religious persecution with blasphemy (295 A/B/C of ppc ), abductions, forced conversions & forced marriages, murders/attacks, mob violence and religious discriminations including the land grabbing issues, Naveed Walter added.

As per HRFP Fact Findings recent Reports, on 29 March 2024, when the service of Good Friday was just over in the evening, a Church in Gujar Khan, Rawalpindi district was put on fire by religious extremists. On 16 July 2023 in Kashmore district, a Hindus temple was attacked and vandalized with rocket launcher. On 8 September 2023 Ahmadiyya’s Mosque has demolished in Shahdara town, Lahore. The Sikhs have been targeted particularly in Peshawar (KP) who running businesses and pharmacies and on 24 June 2023 Manmohan Singh was attacked and killed.

Naveed Walter said the recent cases are just the latest examples of religious persecutions and the numbers are growing that has made minorities more vulnerable and persecuted, HRFP added.