Gender discrimination remains a main issue in Pakistan as men hold the privileges whether it is having a fine job, higher education, better salary, leadership roles, or a voice of authority and power. Discrimination against women voilates international treaties and laws including Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Article 26 of Pakistan constitution ensures equal employment opportunities, while Article 25 of the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan states that all citizens are equal before the law and are entitled to equal protection and there should be no discrimination based on sex. However, women still face early marriages, even before reaching the age of puberty, why? because their gender in Pakistani society doesn’t allow them to have a voice of consent.[1]

In the case of Mst. Mumtaz Bibi v Qasim (PLD 2022 Islamabad 228), Justice Babar Sattar of the Islamabad High Court analysed the two schools of thought and declared that irrespective of the branch of law – i.e., criminal, civil, family and administrative – the age of consent to enter into a marriage will be 18 years and the defence of an accused in a criminal proceeding related to rape and sexual abuse, under sections 375 and 377-A of the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 (PPC) respectively, shall not be entertained. He heavily relied on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Child, 1989.

Religious discrimination is another critical issue in Pakistan as constitution of Pakistan protects the right of religious minorities under article 25, 26, 27, 33 and 36. However, the ongoing issues of forced conversions, temple destructions, false blasphemy allegations highlight the gaps in implementation and failure of government to protect the rights of religious minorities. These discriminatory practices against minorities in Pakistan are against Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) as Article 18 of the ICCPR protects freedom of religion and belief, and prohibits coercion to change one’s religion, these practices also contradict to Pakistan’s constitution, Article 25(1) that ensures equality before the law and equal protection of the law, Article 26 that guarantees non- discrimination in access to public places, Article 27 that prohibits discrimination in services Article 33 that requires the state to discourage prejudice based on religion, race, tribe, sect, and province and Article 36 that requires protection of the rights of minorities and their representation in government) Pakistan penal code prohibit discrimination on the basis of religion. Section 153-A: Criminalizes acts that promote enmity between groups based on religion, race, or other factors. Under article 6 of Protection of the Rights of Religious Minorities Act, 2020: every citizen has Freedom to Profess Religion and to manage Religious institutions but by violating all national and international laws mob violence 2 demolished an old Hanuman temple in Lyari, Karachi in 2020 also the homes of about 20 Hindu families that lived near the temple, (3) another incident happened where Mukesh Kumar Jaidia, (a resident of Doli Khata where the temple was located) said The Rama Peer temple in Karachi, Pakistan (demolished in December 2012). “First, a few men came to the temple and said they just wanted to visit the site,” “Then some more men came, followed by the police and bulldozers. They erected a canvas fence around the temple and about four adjacent houses, and before we knew it, they were bulldozing thestructures.” According to Article (1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood on the other hand discriminatory policies and discriminatory job advertisement on sanitary jobs where specifically mentioned that “ only non muslim can apply” clearly degrade them as a human being also hurt their sentiments and right to dignity that is the fundamental and absolute right of citizen of Pakistan according to Pakistan constitution, According to National commission of human rights fact finding report 2022 Approximately 96.5% of Pakistan’s population is Muslim, and Hindu and Christian religious minorities make up approximately 3% of thepopulation. In 2009, the Government of Pakistan released a notification instructing all government offices, both federal and provincial, to reserve 5% of all government positions from BPS-01 to BPS-22 for religious minorities. This was a progressive step towards ensuring minority participation at every level of the government. However, evidence shows that nearly half of the minority posts under the quota lie vacant. Even within the posts that are filled, 80% of Non-Muslim minorities are employed in low paid work from BPS 01- BPS 04.

Cultural, racial, color and language discrimination where sindhi and Baloch consider uneducated, less powerful, whereas most of the leaders come from these marginalized community. Language and cultural discrimination where sindhi thinks their traditions are far better than Punjabi, Punjabi thinks their language and heritage are rich and Pakhtun believes they are rich in culture. These provincial and cultural segregation impact the unity of people. Punjab, being the most populous province, holds the majority of National Assembly seats, leading to concerns of political dominance over smaller provinces which leads to discrimination against power and resources, Inequitable Resources and Economic disparities arise when certain provinces, such as Balochistan, receive less funding and development initiatives than other provinces. People from smaller provinces feel disregarded when they are not provided with equal positions and opportunities in political and economic grounds which leads to hatred towards other communities, those people who speak regional languages like Sindhi, Balochi, or Pashto may find it difficult to communicate in the workplace and in schools Biases in hiring practices may make it more difficult for people from particular provinces or ethnic origins to get jobs. Unfair labels are applied to various ethnic groups, which has an impact on their employment prospects and social standing and also cause of inferiority complex, Certain provinces have laws that prioritise locals for university and employment positions that also hinder ability of people who belong from different ethnic groups Article 28 of the Constitution of Pakistan states that citizenshave the right to preserve and promote their language, and culture still people face discrimination,

This needs to stop. Achieving zero discrimination is essential for Pakistan’s social, economic,and legal progress.

Pakistan’s journey towards zero discrimination is still going on and for the accomplishment in this journey government needs to make strong policies to remove discrimination from society and also have to make strong mechanism or strategic institution like we have “FOSPAH” that deals with discrimination and harassment at workplace these separate institutions for addressing specific issues like discrimination would be a better initiative to only focus on their motive issues, dividing responsibilities always brings better outcomes.