Former President Donald Trump’s push for lasting peace in Gaza includes appointing Pakistan to the Board of Peace—a decision now under intense scrutiny. The country’s history of fostering terrorism and brutal religious oppression makes its ‘peacemaker’ credentials highly suspect.
Fresh insights from the Gatestone Institute reveal a worsening crisis for Pakistan’s religious minorities. Hindus, Christians, and others endure rising assaults, bigotry, and systemic harassment, cementing Pakistan’s status as a peril zone.
Mob attacks proliferated over the past year, with attackers evading punishment almost entirely. Blasphemy charges against Christians spark frenzied violence: churches razed, families displaced, lives ruined.
Forced religious conversions, abductions, and child marriages plague young Hindu and Christian girls. Legal protections are illusory, as families battle intimidation and official complicity.
The tragic story of Marcus Masih, a 21-year-old Christian whose tortured death was ruled suicide, exemplifies the dangers. It ignited international condemnation.
Echoing this, USCIRF recommends relisting Pakistan as a ‘Country of Particular Concern’ for flagrant religious rights abuses.
The report chronicles more horrors: Waseem Masih’s 2025 killing, Kashif Masih’s torture death, Waseem Salamut’s 2024 end. Sindh and Punjab reported numerous 2025 kidnappings of girls like 12-year-old Saba Shafiq, coerced into conversion and wedlock.
Placing Pakistan on a Gaza peace panel amid these atrocities erodes trust in international mediation. It’s a stark reminder that true peacemakers must first secure peace at home.