COVID-19 intensifies religious discrimination in Pakistan

Shia community specifically targeted by quarantine measures 

Before any formal nationwide lockdown, the public authorities in Balochistan began to declare measures explicitly targeting and restricting the movements of Hazara Shias (2020b). Because the province of Balochistan shares a border with Iran, its provincial government established quarantine camps for Shia pilgrims returning from Iran (Mirza, 2020b). However, the conditions in the camp were not liveable: there was no real housing, no bathrooms, towels or blankets (Ellis-Petersen & Baloch, 2020). Mohammed Bakir, who was held in this camp for two weeks, described the camp as “no more than a prison, the dirtiest place I have ever stayed in my life” (Ellis-Petersen & Baloch, 2020). 

Nonetheless, this is not the only instance of the Shia community being targeted explicitly by quarantine measures. On the 12th of March 2020, the Inspector General of Police in Balochistan explicitly stated that “staff belonging to the Hazara tribe” should be immediately sent home to prevent the outbreak of COVID-19, implying that they were the carriers of the virus (Changezi, 2020). Many other incidents of targeted discrimination go unnoticed because they are not reported. According to Aman (2020), a prominent activist from the Hazara community, Shia Hazaras are clearly experiencing discriminatory treatment when they are sent on leave, impeding them from attending to their jobs while other colleagues practice their duty regularly. 

Denial of food rations to Hindus and Christians 

On the 28th of March 2020, members of the Hindu community were denied food ration bags in Karachi by one of the leading welfare organisations in the area, Saylani Welfare Trust (Digital Desk, 2020). The NGO, established in Karachi to aid homeless and seasonal workers, refused to provide food aid to Hindus because “the aid was reserved for Muslims alone” (Hindustan Times, 2020). Vishal Anand, founder and chairman of the Hindu Youth Council, stated that “when they saw our CNIC [identity cards], they refused to give the ration bags, saying it’s not for Hindus” (Mirza, 2020a). 

By the same token, Christians confirmed that the same organisation denied them food unless they recited the kalima, a declaration of Islamic faith (Mirza, 2020a). 

Against this background, Mirza (2020a), a news writer in The Diplomat, correctly links such discriminatory practices to the fact that even though these philanthropic organisations are operationally diverse and usually offer food to thousands of people regardless of their faith, the presence of local religious clerics has an unavoidable influence on the volunteers that are on the ground, who can eventually act in complete opposition to the organisation’s vision and ideology.