Human rights activists in South Asia called for increased European Union commitments on freedom of religion and belief at a conference in Brussels on December 4, citing a dramatic escalation in targeted attacks against Christians and other minorities in their countries.
The representatives of India and Pakistan emphasized that despite constitutional protection in almost every country in the region, religious minorities, whether Christians, Muslims, Hindus or Buddhists, are increasingly under pressure from those who profess the majority religion. They were speaking at a conference entitled “Targeted Violence Against Christians in South Asia”, organized by MEPs Matej Tonin and Bert-Jan Luyssen and organized by the European Parliament’s legal advocacy group ADF International.
More than 600 incidents of violence were recorded in India between January and October alone, including mob assaults, public humiliation, church disruptions and house demolitions, the United Christian Forum of India said.
“Currently, 12 states in India have implemented anti-conversion laws, which are often used to intimidate and criminalize peaceful religious activities. This year, 123 criminal charges have been filed against Christians, and several believers remain in jail across India,” Arora said. “Christians in India are punished not for wrongdoing, but simply for gathering, praying, and helping their neighbors.”
She presented documented testimonies from across India’s most affected regions.
“Even the Supreme Court of India recently noted that ‘anti-conversion laws’ are being misused to unfairly prosecute Christians,” she added.
The committee also warned that Pakistan continues to abuse some of the world’s toughest blasphemy laws, including provisions that mandate the death penalty. Pakistani journalist Asher John is responsible for the 2023 attack in which more than 20 churches and 85 Christian homes were torched in the Jaranwala area, and the lynching of 74-year-old Christian Nazir in 2024. He noted that 344 new blasphemy cases were registered in 2024 alone, many of which were caused by false or extorted claims on social media and unfairly targeted Christians. Masi Gir of Sargodha.
“False charges of blasphemy continue to cause mob violence,” John said. “Procedural changes to blasphemy laws need to be introduced urgently to curb false allegations that lead to violent attacks on Christian settlements and individuals from both minority and majority communities.”
He further said that the lack of effective prosecution gives perpetrators of violence a sense of impunity, adding that law enforcement and the judiciary must ensure that individuals and groups involved in such incidents are brought to justice.
Victim of Pakistan’s blasphemy law, Shagufta Kausar, thanked both God and the European Parliament for her release following the 2021 emergency resolution. She told the seminar that she and her husband were tortured while in custody, leaving a traumatizing effect on their young children who witnessed the beatings.
Kauser said authorities threatened to throw her naked on the street unless her husband confessed to sending the profane messages. They also pressured her to convert to Islam, but she refused, she added.
Mr Kausser called on EU policymakers to remain vigilant, saying: “Unless the international community acts, countless innocent and innocent people will continue to suffer under laws used to silence and destroy the most vulnerable.”
Ejaz Alam Augustine, Pakistan’s former Minister of Human Rights and Minority Affairs and current member of the Punjab provincial parliament, spoke about forced conversions and forced marriages of underage Christian and Hindu girls in Pakistan.
“Despite fierce opposition from religious groups, the federal government and the Balochistan government have taken the bold step of raising the legal age of marriage to 18 for both men and women,” Augustine said.
He pointed out that a similar bill has been pending approval in the Punjab Assembly since April 2024.
“We have great hope that this bill, if passed, will provide legal protections against the forced conversion of underage Christian girls, as conversion and Islamic marriage are used by perpetrators to hide their sexual crimes,” Augustine said.
Beyond India and Pakistan, ADF International’s Arora highlighted the shrinking space for religious freedom in other South Asian countries. Rising religious nationalism has led to at least 39 incidents of intimidation, intimidation and disruption of worship in Sri Lanka this year, including protests led by Buddhist monks that disrupted Christian worship, he said.
“Nepal has increased surveillance of Christian activities, with authorities arresting and expelling foreign missionaries and ordering local governments to monitor religious gatherings,” Arora said. “Targeted attacks and harassment continue in Bangladesh, especially in rural areas where Christians are left unprotected.”
The European Union has both the powers and the means to act, she added.
“The EU must not only continue but strengthen its efforts to protect freedom of religion and belief around the world. Now more than ever, we need a reappointed special envoy to promote freedom of religion and belief outside the EU,” Arora said.
Matej Tonin, a member of the Slovenian European Parliament from the European People’s Party (EPP), said he was surprised that widespread reporting on religious persecution across South Asia was being ignored by mainstream media.
“I have to admit that it was a kind of culture shock when I came to the European Parliament,” he said. “I am a Christian and practice my religion in my homeland, but I have never heard or seen any reports in the Slovenian news about Christians being persecuted,” he said.
Mr. Tonin stressed that the EU must be a promoter of freedom of religion and belief around the world.
“We need to show that through facts, not words,” he said. “The EU has the tools to prevent the persecution of Christians around the world, which was an important conclusion of this event. Political pressure from the European Parliament is important, but the EU also has powerful economic tools to ensure religious freedom and pressure governments to end persecution. Christians are the most persecuted religious group in the world today, and it is vital that we speak publicly and loudly about this.”
Tonin’s co-sponsor, MEP Bert Jan Luyssen of the European Conservatives and Reformers (ECR) group, called on the EU to make religious freedom a real condition for GSP+ trade benefits.
“Too many countries receive reduced import duties and still violate this right. This must end,” he said.
