Pakistan’s Christians are trapped in a nightmare of institutionalized bias, brutal attacks, coerced religious switches, exploitative bondage, and gender-based violence, receiving scant governmental shield. Open Doors’ freshly released World Watch List 2026 cements the nation’s 8th position out of 50 evaluated countries, signaling no relief in sight for the beleaguered faithful.
Unveiled at a prestigious Brussels gathering on January 27, 2026, hosted by key European Parliament figures including Miriam Lexmann (EPP), Bert-Jan Ruissen (ECR), and Matej Tonin (EPP), the launch drew fiery interventions. Minority advocate Joseph Johnson spotlighted enforcement voids: the 2025 anti-child marriage law in Islamabad notwithstanding, Christian girls vanish into forced conversions and unions, courts prioritizing Sharia over civil codes.
Blasphemy provisions are routinely weaponized via spurious claims, spawning riots that raze churches and incarcerate the accused indefinitely. Echoing the unresolved 2023 Jaranwala blaze of 26 sacred sites, Johnson decried the accountability drought.
Official inaction against radicals such as TLP fans the flames, with religious inmates rotting in cells and impunity reigning supreme. As this top-10 stain endures, global advocates demand Pakistan overhaul its approach, prosecuting extremists and upholding minority protections to avert deeper humanitarian crises.