The military escalation between India and Pakistan has once again thrust the region’s deep religious divides and the precarious situation of minorities into the spotlight. While the immediate trigger of the war was a deadly terrorist attack on Indian tourists in Kashmir, the roots of the conflict are linked to religious fundamentalism, nationalism, and instrumentalization of faith by political and military leaders on both sides.
In the recent flare-up of the India-Pakistan conflict in Kashmir, religious minorities are often the first and most vulnerable victims. adobe
Since their partition in 1947, India and Pakistan have been defined not only by territorial disputes but also by religious identities: Hindu majority India and Muslim majority Pakistan. Kashmir, a Muslim-majority region controlled mostly by India, remains the epicenter of this contest, with both countries claiming the territory and its population caught in the crossfire.
The April 2025 massacre of 26 Indian tourists near Pahalgam, Kashmir, marked a dramatic shift in the conflict’s trajectory. India blamed Pakistan-based militant groups, specifically Lashkar-e-Taiba’s offshoot The Resistance Front, for the attack. Pakistan denied involvement.
Religious and nationalistic fervor have in recent years intensified on both sides. In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government continues to promote a Hindu nationalist agenda, exacerbating communal tensions and marginalizing Muslims and Christians. In Pakistan, influential religious and political figures, including military leaders, have increasingly framed the conflict in explicitly Islamic terms, reinforcing the notion of a holy Jihad. According to the NZZ, Pakistan’s Army Chief Asim Munir is “a devout Muslim known for his religious rigor. He often begins his speeches with Quranic verses and emphasizes the importance of Islam for the army, making jihad an explicit part of the military’s mission and identity.”
The NZZ further observes that Munir’s rhetoric is welcomed by Islamic radical groups and signals a “dangerous rapprochement with Islamist ideologies.”
The accelerating Islamization of Pakistan is also reflected in an increase in religious persecution. According to the Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP), the first quarter of 2025 saw a sharp rise in the number of incidents: over 400 reports of persecution, including physical attacks, blasphemy charges, abductions, forced conversions, and forced marriages. Blasphemy laws continue to be weaponized against minorities, often resulting in mob violence and impunity for perpetrators. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) reports that Pakistan’s legal and social environment has become even more hostile in 2025, with blasphemy accusations and violence against Christians and other minorities on the rise.
India-administered Kashmir’s Muslim majority population faces its own challenges. Since the revocation of the region’s semi-autonomous status in 2019, Indian authorities have imposed security measures, detained thousands, and restricted freedoms.
Both countries are falling far short of international standards for religious freedom. Pakistan remains designated as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) by U.S. State Department due to systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious rights. India, while officially secular, faces growing criticism for its treatment of religious minorities and the erosion of protections in Kashmir. The independent U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has consistently recommended that India be designated a CPC as well; the State Department has resisted for what are widely understood to be strategic reasons.
History and recent events show that in any conflict with a confessional dimension, religious minorities are the first and most vulnerable victims. In Pakistan, Christians, Hindus, Ahmadiyya, and Shi’a Muslims have for years endured systematic persecution, discrimination, and violence often at the hands of both state and non-state actors. The situation in India, though not as severe as in Pakistan, is increasingly challenging for minorities. Even in times of relative peace, these communities live under the constant threat of harassment and marginalization.
Now, as extremist religious rhetoric intensifies in the context of a possible renewed armed conflict, the situation for minorities threatens to deteriorate further.
If the current trajectory continues, the fragile existence of these communities is at risk of being shattered, potentially leading to further displacement, loss of life, and even local or regional humanitarian crises.
Learn about Christian Solidarity International’s ongoing humanitarian aid and advocacy work to protect religious minorities in Pakistan and India.
