Indian groups raise minority concerns over Pakistan at UNHRC

Two organisations raised concerns about minority rights in Pakistan at the United Nations Human Rights Council, according to Indian media reports published on Wednesday.

The statements were made during one of the council's regular sessions, though the reports did not specify which agenda item they fell under. Both organisations are non-governmental bodies; their full submissions were not made public in the reports.

The Patiala Foundation used its intervention at the council to highlight what it called inadequate protection of minority religious heritage sites in Pakistan, The Hawk reported. The report was based on a Google News RSS entry; the full text was not retrievable by Skardu Times. No specific sites, dates, or evidence were included in the headline and standfirst.

Sambhali Trust separately told the council that minority women in Pakistan face particular risks, ANI News reported. ANI News carried the headline and standfirst stating that the trust had raised concerns at the UNHRC. Further details of the trust's statement were not available in the material seen by this newspaper.

Neither report included a response from the Government of Pakistan or from Pakistani officials. Skardu Times has not independently verified the claims made by either organisation.

The reports were published by Indian outlets. The Hawk and ANI News are both Indian media organisations. The stories reached an international audience through news aggregators.

The Pakistani constitution states that all citizens are equal before the law and that provision shall be made for minorities to profess and practise their religions freely. Minority communities in Pakistan include Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, and others, and their places of worship are protected under statute.

Because the full statements were not available, this report is limited to the information contained in the headlines and standfirsts of the two outlet reports. Skardu Times will update the story if the full submissions or a Pakistani response become available. Pakistani officials have in the past rejected what they described as politically motivated criticism at the UNHRC.

The United Nations Human Rights Council meets in Geneva and provides a forum for states and accredited non-governmental organisations to speak on human rights matters.