The Friday Times: “India grants citizenship to 4300 refugees from Afghanistan and Pakistan” read a recent news headline circulating in the media.  As a Pakistani, this headline carried more heartache than surprise. At a time when the Pakistani social media is abuzz with underlining the plight of the minority Rohingya-Muslim community of Myanmar, minorities and marginalized groups in our own backyard are fighting a battle of their survival. So how come Pakistan, a country established on grounds of secularism, reach this stage of deserting its own? Systematic constitutional marginalization, growing extremist narrative, and alleged state-backed persecution are some of the major reasons. Between January 2013 and June 2014, up to 3,753 Non-Muslim Pakistanis, especially Hindus, gave up their passports to acquire Indian Visas. Also, the Foreign Policy magazine ranked Pakistan as the third worst state in terms of group grievance, whereas Freedom House, in 2012, categorized the country as partially free for religious practice. Where Punjab has seen a spike a rise in extremism, resulting in more attacks on minority worship places, Sindh, on the other hand, has been known for forced conversions of the Hindu community. The Movement of Solidarity and Peace reports that forced conversion is one of the major reasons for minority group grievance in Pakistan. According to the Asian Human Rights watch, an average of 20-25 incidents of forced conversion and kidnappings take place in the Sindh province per month, mostly involving the Hindu community. –

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