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C O N F I D E N T I A L KARACHI 000586 
 
 
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CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/28/2018 
TAGS: SOCI PGOV PK
SUBJECT: RELIGIOUS MINORITIES IN SINDH AND BALOCHISTAN PROVINCES 
 
REF: KARACHI 531 
 
Classified By: CLASSIFIED BY CONSUL GENERAL KAY ANSKE FOR REASONS 1.4 (b) AND (d) 
 
¶1.  (C)  Summary:  With the exception of the Ahmadi sect, 
most religious minorities in Sindh and Balochistan find the 
provincial governments supportive - to varying degrees - and 
do not report official discrimination.  Urban communities 
tend to be more tolerant of religious minorities than rural 
areas, but minorities in rural areas in Balochistan have 
tribal protection.  Anti-blasphemy laws can and have been 
used to attack certain members of religious sects.  The 
Ahmadis, an offshoot of mainstream Sunni Islam, have been 
subject to violent pogroms with little police interference. 
End summary. 
 
Christians 
---------- 
 
¶2.  (C)  Based on population growth rates and data obtained 
from the 1998 GOP census, Post estimates that there are 
389,000 Christians in Sindh province and another 34,000 in 
Balochistan, making Christianity the second largest 
non-Muslim religious minority in both provinces.  (Note: 
Hindus are the largest non-Muslim religious minority.  Some 
NGO estimates indicate there are as many as 163,000 
Christians in Balochistan.  End note.)  The provinces are 
home to many Christian denominations including Anglicans, 
Roman Catholics, and Seventh Day Adventists. 
 
¶3.  (C)  Representatives of all three Christian denominations 
have told the Consul General (CG) that they carefully abide 
by government prohibitions on proselytizing.  They also said 
that while there is no officially sanctioned discrimination, 
Pakistani society informally sanctions bias against other 
religions.  Pakistani laws, based on the Sharia, often 
disadvantage members of other religions.  For example, those 
who marry a Muslim must convert to Islam as conversion to 
Christianity by a Muslim is not allowed.  Some Christian 
leaders felt that the 2002 election reforms diluted their 
legislative influence by eliminating special seats for 
religious minorities.  Under this system, religious 
minorities could vote only for the religious minority 
candidates.  Currently, religious minorities have 10 reserved 
seats in the National Assembly, but  the new law allows all 
religious minorities to vote for any legislators who will 
represent their geographical area. 
 
-- Anglicans 
 
¶4.  (C)  Right Reverend Saddiq Daniel, Anglican Bishop of 
Karachi, said that he did not believe state-sanctioned 
discrimination against Christians existed.  However, he 
claimed that Christians sometimes had more difficulty than 
Muslims in gaining admission to certain universities or in 
obtaining jobs.  He also noted more anti-Christian sentiment 
in interior Sindh province than in Karachi.  Forced 
conversions, while they do occur, are not a major problem for 
the Anglican Church.  In Balochistan, Daniel said that while 
church members enjoyed tribal protection, a local politician 
was attempting to seize church property illegally.  Of an 
estimated 25,000 - 30,000 Anglicans in Sindh, around 3,000 
live in Karachi.  Another 1,000 reside in Balochistan, where 
they have two houses of worship in the Quetta area. 
 
-- Roman Catholics 
 
¶5.  (C)  Roman Catholic Archbishop Everest Pinto, told the CG 
that although there is no government bias against members of 
his faith, anti-Christian sentiment has increased in the 
Muslim community over the past few years.  Nevertheless, he 
was optimistic about the future and told the CG that 
interfaith dialogue is improving.  Pinto did opine that there 
is more discrimination and less religious tolerance in 
Balochistan.  Many Catholic schools (an estimated 100 in 
Sindh) are regarded as premier educational intuitions and 
have large percentages or often substantial majorities of 
non-Christian students.  The Archdiocese publishes two 
newspapers - one in English and the other in Urdu.  According 
to the Archbishop, there are an estimated 245,000 Roman 
Catholics in Sindh - around 145,000 reside in the Karachi 
area.  Around 10,000 live in Balochistan. 
 
-- Seventh Day Adventists 
 
¶6.  (C)  According to church officials, the Seventh Day 
Adventist denomination has 3,000 members, 28 churches, 48 
congregations, and 10 schools - six secondary and four 
elementary - in Sindh and Balochistan.  A leading Adventist 
official, Pastor Isaac Jalal, told the CG that members of his 
faith have experienced discrimination in gaining admission to 
universities, in particular, medical schools, and in finding 
meaningful jobs.  This bias is most pronounced in villages 
and small towns, but does not appear to be officially 
sanctioned by the government.  However, Jalal characterized 
Pakistan's blasphemy law as a "sword of Damocles" hanging 
over the heads of the Christian community. 
 
¶7.  (C)  Religious fervor can often incite sectarian 
violence.  For example, a claim by a Christian convert to 
Islam that a member of the Sukkur Catholic community had 
insulted Islam incited rioters to burn a Roman Catholic 
Church and an Anglican Church on February 19, 2006.  (Note: 
This was in the middle of the uproar against the Danish 
cartoons.  End note.)  As a gesture of good will, the Sindh 
provincial government allocated funding that has helped, at 
least partially, rebuild the torched church buildings. 
 
Hindus 
------ 
 
¶8.  (C)  There are an estimated 2.6 million Hindus in Sindh 
and 41,000 in Balochistan, making them the largest non-Muslim 
religious minority in the two provinces.  (Note:  Some NGOs 
estimate that Hindus comprise 2.2 percent of Balochistan's 
population or over 184,000 people.  End note.)  Hindu leaders 
stated that they were pleased with the 2002 election reforms, 
which eliminated the separate minority electorate.  Many 
members of this community are well-educated and serve as 
doctors, engineers and chartered accountants.  There are also 
many Hindus in the business community. 
 
¶9.  (C)  However, community leaders have reported that 
members of certain castes such as the Bheel and Kohli 
(Untouchables) are forced to work as bonded agricultural 
labor for big landholders in Sindh.  These particular groups 
of Hindus comprise one of the poorest and least educated 
communities in the province.  Post has heard that some 
Untouchables were "sold" by at least one feudal landholder 
and that they are occasionally held in private jails by their 
employers.  The case of Manu Baheel, whose nine family 
members were kidnapped from Sanghar in 1998, is still pending 
and their whereabouts are still unknown. 
 
¶10.  (C)  Dr. Dawarkadas, a Hindu community leader in upper 
Sindh, told the CG that kidnappings of Hindu business owners 
for ransom have recently increased.  He also cited forced 
conversions to Islam of Hindu women.  Dawarkadas said that 
while government sanctioned discrimination was rare, members 
of the Hindu community have lost government contracts for 
reasons that were never made clear.    In Balochistan, Hindu 
leaders attributed their relative security to protection by 
the tribes, but claimed little official support. 
 
Parsis 
------ 
 
¶11.  (C)  Members of the Parsi religious community have lived 
in Pakistan since the early nineteenth century.  Currently 
there are only about 2,000 Parsis now living in Pakistan with 
1,600 of those residing in Karachi.  In the past, many 
members of the community have migrated to the U.S., Canada, 
and Australia.  About 60 percent of the Parsi population now 
living in Karachi is over 60 years of age.  Highly literate, 
they are widely respected for their philanthropic works. 
 
¶12.  (C)  Byram Avari, a Parsi community leader, told Post 
that his religious community did not experience official 
discrimination.  He noted that most Parsis enjoy an above 
average wage and are highly sought by employers due to their 
overall education levels. 
 
Sikhs 
----- 
 
¶13.  (C)  Around 1,000 Sikhs live in Karachi, with an 
estimated 3,000 living throughout Sindh province.  There are 
only around 2,000 Sikhs living in Balochistan.  Sikh leaders 
bristle about the Hindu contention that their sect should be 
included with the Hindus in official reports.  One Sikh 
leader, Sardar Hira Singh, declared that Sikhs have not 
experienced discrimination in obtaining university admission, 
but are discriminated against by prospective employers. 
 
¶14.  (C)  Particularly rankling to Karachi's Sikh community 
is an ongoing 15 year court battle with Hindus over the 
community's only temple (gurdwara) in Karachi.  Singh 
complained that the temple has been shuttered and members of 
his community now have to use makeshift sites for worship. 
He accused Hindu members in both the national and provincial 
assemblies of exerting undue influence in favor of their 
communities in this battle.  For lack of a separate cemetery, 
Sikhs are forced to inter their deceased in a Hindu graveyard. 
 
Baha'is 
------- 
 
¶15.  (C)  Baha'is have lived in Sindh since before the 1947 
partition.  They established temples in Karachi, Hyderabad 
and other cities as early as 1932.  There are currently 
around 500 Baha,is in Karachi and around 2,000 in Sindh. 
Another 1,000 are believed to live in Balochistan.  Farshid 
Rohani, a Baha'i leader, stated that his religion has not 
faced discrimination in Sindh province and Baha'is have 
practiced their religion freely in both rural and urban areas 
of the province. 
 
¶16.  (C)  A 1981 amendment to the Pakistani constitution 
recognized Baha'is as a non-Muslim minority.  This provision 
meant that they experienced no difficulties in registering 
for National Identity Cards or obtaining passports.  Most of 
Karachi's Baha'i community is educated and many hold jobs in 
private and government offices.  Others are small business 
owners with a concentration in bakeries, restaurants, and 
general stores.  In rural Sindh, Bahai,s tend to be 
land-holding farmers.  The Baha'i leader said that members of 
his religion have not had problems with gaining admission 
into universities.  The community shares the National 
Assembly reserved seat for minorities with the Parsis. 
 
Ahmadis 
------- 
 
¶17.  (C)  The Punjab-based Ahmadis are a branch of Islam 
established in 1880 by Ghulam Ahmed of Qadiyan, who declared 
himself a prophet.  As Ahmed's declaration ran contrary to 
mainstream Islamic beliefs, he was almost immediately 
declared a heretic and his followers banned because they do 
not recognize Mohammad as the last Prophet.  Since then, 
Ahmadis have been violently persecuted.  In 1974, the 
National Assembly officially categorized Ahmadis as a 
non-Muslim minority.   Pakistani law makes it illegal for 
Ahmadis to call themselves Muslims, to adopt or use Islamic 
terminology, or to publish translations of the Holy Quran. 
¶18.  (C)  There are about 56,000 Ahmadis or Qadiyanis living 
in Sindh, mostly in the urban areas.  Balochistan has 
approximately 13,000, although some NGOs put them at a much 
higher percentage of the total population with numbers 
approaching 48,000.  They are discriminated against in all 
facets of life, including university admission and 
employment.  Various Muslim clerics have issued decrees 
(fatwas) against the Ahmadis. 
 
¶19.  (C)  In June 2008, an Ahmadi community in the city of 
Kotri (a suburb of Hyderabad), Sindh was attacked by an angry 
mob.  Ahmadi leaders claimed that their homes were attacked 
and looted in the presence of local police, who took no 
action to protect them.  The day after the attacks, the 
district government lodged charges against six Ahmedis.  In 
the same month, Badin District authorities (interior Sindh) 
forced the Ahmadi community there to sell its place of 
worship, after receiving a complaint from Sunni clerics about 
the facility.  On September 8, Abdul Siddiqui, a U.S. citizen 
physician and a leader in the Ahmadi community, was shot to 
death while working in his hospital in Mirpurkhas in what 
appears to have been a religiously motivated attack (reftel). 
 
Muslims 
------- 
 
-- Shi,as 
 
¶20.  (C)  Post estimates that there are between 6.8 to 8 
million Shi,as in Sindh province, concentrated in the urban 
centers.  Another 400,000 ) 500,000 are believed to live in 
Balochistan, mainly in cities.  While GOP policy does not 
discriminate against Shi,as, leaders of Sunni militant 
jihadi organizations have encouraged pogroms against them in 
the past.  Shi,a leaders and mosques, particularly in 
Karachi, have been attacked by Sunni suicide bombers and 
Shi,as have retaliated by assassinating prominent Sunni 
clerics, fueling the cycle of violence.  Two particularly 
virulent Sunni organizations, Lashkar-i-Jhangvi and 
Sipah-i-Sahaba, reportedly have adopted the murder of Shi,as 
as a tenet of their organizations. 
 
-- Ismailis 
 
¶21.  (C)  The Shi,a Imami Ismaili Muslims (Ismailis) are an 
branch of the Shi,as that is led by the Aga Khan.  They have 
had a presence in Sindh since the 16th century.  An Ismaili 
leader, Pyar Ali, a member of the Aga Khan Council of 
Pakistan, estimated that around 49,000 members of his sect 
live in Sindh.  There are only around 700 in Balochistan. 
They are concentrated in urban areas, with the majority 
living in Karachi.  Community leaders said that they do not 
face discrimination from the provincial or federal 
governments.  Perhaps because of their extensive charity work 
and community outreach, they appear to have escaped much of 
the violence perpetrated against mainstream Shi,as by Sunni 
militants. 
 
-- Bohras 
 
¶22.  (C)  The Bohras are a Shi,a sect with roots in Yemen 
and India.  There are around 45,000 Bohras in Sindh - most 
live in Karachi and Hyderabad - and another 200 in 
Balochistan.  They are well-educated and many are 
professionals.  The sect observes a different religious 
calendar from other Islamic sects, which some consider a 
slight to Islam.  A generally reserved community, Bohras have 
their own mosques.  Community leaders told Post that members 
of their sect do not usually face discrimination in finding 
jobs or seats at universities.  They have not been the target 
of sectarian violence. 
 
-- Zikris 
 
¶23.  (C)  Predominantly concentrated in Makran and Lasbela 
districts of Balochistan, with pockets located in Sindh, 
mainly in the Karachi area, Zikris are an offshoot of Sunni 
Islam.  Most Zikris are poor peasants or nomads, and largely 
uneducated.  They differ from mainstream Islamic beliefs in 
their observance of prayer.  As a result, some Sunni 
fundamentalist groups regard them as heretics and have 
demanded that the GOP cease recognizing them as Muslims.  The 
exact number of Zikris is unknown, but Post roughly estimates 
that 100,000 to 200,000 live in Sindh and Balochistan 
provinces. 
 
-- Sufis 
 
¶24.  (C)  Sindh is known as the cradle of Sufism, an offshoot 
of mainstream Islam.  Barelvi Sunnis are the main adherents 
to the Sufi movement in Sindh.  Barelvis represent almost 
sixty percent (around 23 million people) of the population in 
Sindh.  The anniversaries of death of prominent Sufis, such 
as poets, are revered, and Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai and Lal 
Shahbaz Qalandar, are officially recognized.  Sufis believe 
in universal love through poetry and dance, and pilgrimages 
to the mausoleums of Sufi poets and saints.  Given the sheer 
number of adherents to Sufism and its general acceptance 
among Sunnis, Sufis have not experienced significant 
discrimination from the GOP or in society in general. 
 
Anske