Pakistan - Country briefing

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Country Briefing

Area:

796,095 km2 (CIA, 2 January 2024)
Capital:

Islamabad (CIA, 2 January 2024)
Population:

Between approx. 242 (2023 census) (Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, undated (a)) and 248 million (2023 estimate) (CIA, 2 January 2024)
Official languages:

Urdu and English (The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 31 May 2018); two regional languages are also used as languages of instruction (Eberhard et al., 2023; see also National Assembly of Pakistan, 31 May 2018)
Currency:

Pakistani Rupee (PKR) (CIA, 2 January 2024)

1. Brief overview

Geography:

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan (hereinafter: Pakistan) “is the fifth most populous country in the world” (GIZ, 31 December 2022; see also AA, 27 October 2023). Pakistan borders Iran to the west, Afghanistan to the northwest and north, China to the northeast, India to the east and southeast and the Arabian Sea to the south (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 9 January 2024). Pakistan was founded as an independent state in 1947 through the partition of British India (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 9 January 2024). At that time, it comprised a part to the west of India - today's Pakistan - and a part to the east of India. In the civil war of 1971, East Pakistan became the independent state of Bangladesh with the support of India (BBC News, 9 January 2023).

Population:

The Pakistani population comprises 44.7 per cent Punjabis, 15.4 per cent Pashtuns, 14.1 per cent Sindhi, 8.4 per cent Saraiki, 7.6 per cent Muhajir, 3.6 per cent Baloch and 6.3 per cent are people of other ethnicities (CIA, 2 January 2024; see also Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, undated (b), p. 17). Islam is the official state religion (Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, undated (b), p. 27).

According to the 2017 census report, 96.5 per cent of the population are Muslim and the majority belong to Sunni faiths (Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, undated (b), pp. 28 and 78). There are also Hindu (1.73 per cent) and Christian (1.27 per cent) minorities as well as the Ahmadiyya community (0.09 per cent) in the country (Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, undated (b), p. 78). Further information on religious minorities in Pakistan can be found here.

Political structure:

“Pakistan is a federal parliamentary republic” (USDOS, 20 March 2023, Executive Summary; EU EOM, 26 October 2018, p. 9). The state is divided into four provinces (Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh), the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) and two autonomous regions (Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir) (EU EOM, 26 October 2018, p. 9).

The constitution provides for the prime minister to hold most of the executive powers, with the president playing a more symbolic role (FH, 2023). The parliament consists of a National Assembly with 342 deputies (elected for five years) and a Senate with 100 members (elected for six years). In the National Assembly, 60 seats are reserved for women and 10 seats are reserved for non-Muslim minorities; the reserved seats are filled by proportional representation on the basis of party lists (FH, 2023; see also EU EOM, 26 October 2018, p. 9). -> ecoi.net search for elections in Pakistan.

Although opposition parties regularly contest elections, which also lead to changes of power at national level, the military is still considered to have a greater influence on political processes and election results, despite its assurances of non-interference (FH, 2023; see also Bertelsmann Stiftung, 19 March 2024, p. 14).

See also this query response from the Canadian IRB from January 2024, which deals with the removal (2022) and arrest (2023) of Prime Minister Imran Khan (and the consequences):

IRB - Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada: Pakistan: Political situation, including events related the removal and arrest of Prime Minister Imran Khan; political parties and alliances (2022-December 2023) [PAK201759.E], 11 January 2024
https://www.ecoi.net/en/document/2103960.html

2. Militant groups and terrorism

In recent years, Pakistan has been increasingly confronted with violence from militant organisations, including Daesh-affiliated groups, as well as military operations to combat insurgents in Balochistan. At the same time, the social rifts in the country deepened. Religious organisations such as Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) gained influence (MRG, undated, Current issues).

Since 2013, Pakistan has been affected by a series of attacks that have plunged the country deeper into a security crisis (MRG, undated, background). As a result, the government introduced a National Action Plan (NAP) for Countering Terrorism and Extremism in Pakistan (Dawn, 15 April 2023; MRG, undated, background; PIPS, January 2015, p. 5; FES & PIPS, December 2020, p. V). The NAP contains 20 points (Dawn, 15 April 2023; FES & PIPS, December 2020, p. V), including calls for the establishment of a specialised counter-terrorism force, decisive action against sectarian terrorists, the strengthening of the existing National Counter-Terrorism Authority (NACTA), the registration and regulation of religious schools (madrasas) and a comprehensive policy to address the problem of Afghan refugees - who have been arriving in Pakistan in large numbers since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan - starting with the registration of all refugees (FES & PIPS, December 2020, pp. 7, 9-10, 23, 25, 38). The first measure implemented was the resumption of executions of persons convicted of terrorism (FES & PIPS, December 2020, p. 12). A large-scale counter-terrorism campaign was also carried out quickly and led to the arrests of many key figures and members of sectarian groups, especially members of the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) [formerly called Sipah-e Sahaba Pakistan, SSP, see International Crisis Group, 5 September 2022, fn. 9] and the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) (FES & PIPS, December 2020, p. 23). With the decimation of the LeJ leadership, LeJ members sought alternative organisations and many joined like-minded groups, such as the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP, Pakistani Taliban Movement), or turned to the ISKP (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant - Khorasan Province), likely because of its high-level links to transnational jihad (International Crisis Group, 5 September 2022). The Salafist-jihadist ISKP was founded in late 2014 by renegade fighters from the TTP, al-Qaeda and the Taliban and operates in Afghanistan as well as in Pakistan's provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and less frequently in Punjab. Its activities in Balochistan are almost indistinguishable from those of the ISPP (Islamic State Province of Pakistan), which formally split from it in May 2019 (CSIS, 3 August 2023).

In July 2018, attempts by the Pakistani Taliban and Daesh allies to thwart the parliamentary elections failed, but they killed hundreds of civilians in these attacks. In return, the security forces used abusive force, including against civilians (MRG, undated, Current issues). Following the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and the Taliban's return to power there in August 2021, TTP terrorist activities in Pakistan increased again (Dawn, 12 May 2022). According to estimates, the number of militant attacks rose by over 50 per cent within a year. The provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan bordering Afghanistan are particularly affected (International Crisis Group, 12 May 2023). Afghan and Pakistani Daesh groups are also carrying out attacks on non-Sunni Muslims, Sikhs and Christians in Pakistan. Their aim is to overthrow the government and establish a caliphate (CSIS, 3 August 2023). -> ecoi.net search for the security situation

Human Rights Watch reports on the use of “draconian counterterrorism and sedition laws to intimidate peaceful critics” (HRW, 11 January 2024) -> ecoi.net search on freedom of expression. According to the US Department of State, the use of anti-terrorism courts (ATCs) leads to long proceedings and violations of the right to a fair trial even in cases without a terrorist background (USDOS, 20 March 2023, Section 1.e).

See also the following annual report on the security situation:

PIPS - Pak Institute for Peace Studies: Pakistan Security Report 2023, January 2024
https://www.pakpips.com/web/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Pakistan_Securtity_Report_2023.pdf

3. Accusations of blasphemy

Pakistan's blasphemy law was originally introduced during colonial rule (USCIRF, December 2023, p. 1; Al Jazeera, 21 September 2020) and made derogatory statements about religious groups or religious feelings a punishable offence (USCIRF, December 2023, p. 1; Deutschlandfunk, 24 August 2023; see also Al Jazeera, 18 August 2023). It was incorporated into the Pakistani penal code in 1947 and tightened in the 1980s under the (military) rule of Zia ul-Haq (USCIRF, December 2023, p. 1-2; Al Jazeera, 21 September 2020; Al Jazeera, 18 August 2023). Offences against religious feelings and beliefs are punishable by up to ten years' imprisonment and/or a fine (Section 295-A), damaging, defiling or desecrating the Quran by imprisonment for life (Section 295-B) and directly or indirectly bringing the Prophet Muhammad into disrepute by death and a fine (Section 295-C) (Pakistan Penal Code 1860, Section 295A-C; see also USCIRF, December 2023, pp. 1-2; Al Jazeera, 21 September 2020; Al Jazeera, 18 August 2023).

Blasphemy accusations fuel violence against religious minorities (USCIRF, December 2023, p. 1; Deutschlandfunk, 24 August 2023; Al Jazeera, 18 August 2023) and in some cases lead to the killing of the accused (Deutschlandfunk, 24 August 2023). Blasphemy accusations are used to satisfy personal desires for revenge and lead to acts of violence even before charges can be drawn up or presented to a court (USCIRF, December 2023, p. 1; Al Jazeera, 18 August 2023). Personal disputes, feuds and use for political purposes are common motives for false blasphemy accusations (USCIRF, December 2023, p. 3; Deutschlandfunk, 24 August 2023; Al Jazeera, 18 August 2023). Members of religious minorities, especially Christians, are particularly at risk of being attacked on the basis of blasphemy accusations (Al Jazeera, 18 August 2023). In many cases, there is no punishment for those who make false accusations or take the law into their own hands (USCIRF, December 2023, p. 1; Deutschlandfunk, 24 August 2023). Defendants often serve long prison sentences, are sent to solitary confinement and are even sentenced to death (USCIRF, December 2023, p. 1). However, no executions have yet been carried out for blasphemy (USCIRF, December 2023, p. 1-2; Al Jazeera, 18 August 2023). Since 1987, more than 2,100 people have been accused of blasphemy and at least 89 have been killed by mobs over blasphemy allegations (USCIRF, December 2023, p. 1). The perpetrators often go unpunished, even when police are present during the attacks (USCIRF, December 2023, p. 3). Lawyers defending clients against blasphemy accusations are themselves threatened (Deutschlandfunk, 24 August 2023). Judges also report being put under pressure to hand down sentences in their blasphemy cases and fearing physical violence if they do not do so (Al Jazeera, 18 August 2023).

Instead of taking measures to curb the violence, the Pakistani government has recently made efforts to tighten the country's existing blasphemy laws (USCIRF, December 2023, p. 1), even though they are among the strictest (USCIRF, December 2023, p. 3; Deutschlandfunk, 24 August 2023) and most frequently enforced blasphemy laws in the world (USCIRF, December 2023, p. 3). Former government officials who had campaigned for a reform of the blasphemy law were also killed (USCIRF, December 2023, p. 2).

Strict penalties in addition to blasphemy also affect the approximately 4 million members of the Ahmadiyya community. By law, they are not allowed to call themselves Muslim (USCIRF, December 2023, p. 4; Al Jazeera, 21 September 2020), perform Muslim practices and prayers or spread their faith. For example, Ahmadis are prohibited from publicly professing their faith, procuring material about their faith, quoting the Quran, building mosques, calling their places of worship mosques or making the adhaan, the public call to prayer. Political parties such as the TLP also agitate against the Ahmadiyya community and call for vandalism of their mosques (USCIRF, December 2023, p. 4).

-> ecoi.net search on blasphemy in Pakistan.

4. Kashmir

Kashmir (or the territory of the princely state of Kashmir and Jammu, which was created during the British Indian era) (DGVN, undated) has already been the cause of three wars (1948-1949, 1965 and 1999) between India and Pakistan (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 9 January 2024). The conflict began with the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947 (Destradi et al., 29 April 2021). Kashmir's Maharaja Hari Singh had to decide whether Kashmir should join India or Pakistan. The decision was complicated by the fact that the ruler was of Hindu faith, while the majority of Kashmir's population was Muslim (Destradi et al., 29 April 2021; BBC News, 19 December 2023). He therefore initially favoured independence. When Pakistani-backed insurgents tried to force annexation to Pakistan, he called the Indian army for help and eventually accepted accession to the Indian Union. India deployed armed forces and the first Pakistan-India war over Kashmir broke out (DGVN, n.d.; Destradi et al., 29 April 2021). On 1 January 1949, the war ended with a ceasefire and Kashmir was divided between Pakistan and India. The current border ("Line of Control") runs along the 1949 ceasefire line (Destradi et al., 29 April 2021). Two thirds of the territory fell to India, the rest to Pakistan. In the 1950s, China occupied parts of eastern Kashmir (BBC News, 19 December 2023). Both countries still lay claim to the entire area and attach identity-forming importance to the Kashmir issue. Pakistan sees itself as a state for the Muslims of Southeast Asia, while for India, Kashmir's affiliation to India underlines the secular and pluralistic character of the country (Destradi et al., 29 April 2021). Independence, as desired by some Kashmiris, is not being considered by either India or Pakistan (BBC News, 19 December 2023). Although Pakistan administers Asad Kashmir, it recognises the territory as an independent state (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 9 January 2024). A map of Kashmir including the areas controlled by India and China can be found here.

-> ecoi.net search for documents on Kashmir

Sources

Table of Contents

1. Brief overview

2. Militant groups and terrorism

3. Accusations of blasphemy

4. Kashmir

Sources

 

Cite as

ACCORD – Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation: ecoi.net: Pakistan - Country Briefing, 4 April 2024
https://www.ecoi.net/en/countries/pakistan/briefing/

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