Despite the government’s announcement of economic aid to minorities in 2025, progress in security, religious freedom and
LAHORE:
In 2025, Punjab’s record on religious minority rights reflected a complex mix of political ambitions and challenges on the ground. As the provincial government rolled out expanded budgets, welfare programs, and legal reforms, human rights groups questioned their effectiveness, highlighting persistent gaps between official claims and lived realities. Over the past year, the Punjab government has significantly increased the budget allocated for minority affairs. Development funds were increased for the repair and restoration of minority places of worship, including churches, temples and gurdwaras, and permission was also granted to celebrate minority religious festivals at the official level in various districts.
Punjab Human Rights and Minority Affairs Minister Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora said that in the education sector, the government has introduced 5,000 scholarships for minority students, a quota system for degrees and government jobs and a special portal created to ensure implementation of the policy. Minority students were also prepared for CSS exams at government expense.
“As part of social initiatives, the Minority Support Card project was launched in 2025, through which poor minority families received financial assistance of Rs 10,500 on a quarterly basis, along with an additional Rs 15,000 for religious festivals. In 2025, the number of registered families was 50,000, which is expected to be increased to 100,000 in 2026. According to the Hindu Marriage Act, 2024, progress was made in 2025 towards the implementation of the Hindu Marriage Act, 2017,” Arora asserted.
However, despite these measures, human rights defenders and minority representatives said the reality on the ground remained alarming. HRCP Secretary General Harris Khalique said that while initiatives such as the Minority Card and the legislation establishing the National Commission for Minorities reflected the state’s awareness of the structural problems facing religious minorities, symbolic or welfare-oriented measures cannot substitute for effective protection of fundamental rights.
“Throughout 2025, HRCP has documented numerous cases of forced religious conversions, attacks on places of worship, and failures of law enforcement to provide effective protection and justice. The true test of the state’s commitment lies in preventing abuses against minorities, holding perpetrators accountable, and ensuring equal citizenship for all before the law,” Khalique said.
Peter Jacob, Executive Director, Center for Social Justice, revealed that while the Punjab government was taking several steps, there was a need to take steps to ensure sustainable economic development while respecting the fundamental rights of minorities. Prevention of child marriages must be ensured and the performance of Mithaq (Covenant) centers must be improved. Meanwhile, the government’s claims to protect sanitation workers also came under scrutiny, when four workers reportedly died from toxic gases while cleaning sewers in Lahore and Gujranwala, prompting civil society to express concern over the lack of safety kits and machines.
Minority rights lawyer Samuel Pyara said financial aid alone was insufficient for religious minorities. “Without education, tolerance in school curricula and inclusion of minorities in policymaking, lasting solutions are not possible. Trust cannot be restored without swift and strict action against violence and hate crimes,” Pyara urged.
Civil society and human rights organizations have urged the government to place protection, legal reforms, independent grievance mechanisms and genuine representation of minority communities at the center of its policies in 2026. Transparent, consistent and inclusive implementation rather than charity-based measures is the true benchmark for assessing the government’s claims regarding minority rights.
