A leading newspaper in Pakistan has reported that the "religious minorities in the country were more vulnerable than safe".

The report published on Wednesday, days after two minor Hindu sisters were allegedly abducted and were forced to embrace Islam and married&nbsp;said, "The state has a responsibility to preserve and protect the right to freedom of religion, guaranteed under Article 20 of our Constitution."

"But it is impossible to deny the fact that religious minorities are, in many ways, more vulnerable than safe in Pakistan," it said.

The editorial published in Dawn also added that the latest abduction was one of only a handful of the many claims of forced conversions in Sindh.

The daily also highlighted that the majority of new conversions in Sindh took place in socio-economically vulnerable Hindu families and most of the victims of the conversions were minor girls.

Two girls aged 13 and 15, were allegedly kidnapped from their home in Sindh's Ghotki district by a group of "influential" men on March 20, a day before Holi.

A video of a priest purportedly solemnising the marriage of the two girls went viral soon after, triggering nationwide outrage.

&nbsp;

A leading newspaper in Pakistan has reported that the "religious minorities in the country were more vulnerable than safe". The report published on Wednesday, days after two minor Hindu sisters were allegedly abducted and were forced to embrace Islam and married said, "The state has a responsibility to preserve and protect the right to freedom of religion, guaranteed under Article 20 of our Constitution.

A leading newspaper in Pakistan has reported that the "religious minorities in the country were more vulnerable than safe". The report published on Wednesday, days after two minor Hindu sisters were allegedly abducted and were forced to embrace Islam and married said, "The state has a responsibility to preserve and protect the right to freedom of religion, guaranteed under Article 20 of our Constitution." "But it is impossible to deny the fact that religious minorities are, in many ways, more vulnerable than safe in Pakistan," it said. The editorial published in Dawn also added that the latest abduction was one of only a handful of the many claims of forced conversions in Sindh. The daily also highlighted that the majority of new conversions in Sindh took place in socio-economically vulnerable Hindu families and most of the victims of the conversions were minor girls. Two girls aged 13 and 15, were allegedly kidnapped from their home in Sindh's Ghotki district by a group of "influential" men on March 20, a day before Holi. A video of a priest purportedly solemnising the marriage of the two girls went viral soon after, triggering nationwide outrage.

Religious minorities vulnerable in Pakistan: Pak Daily

Members of civil society and religious minorities in India were concerned over minority communities feeling "increasingly vulnerable" due to Hindu nationalist groups engaging in violence against them in 2017, a US report on international religious freedom said today.

The Congressional-mandated annual report on International Religious Freedom covering 2017 was released by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

According to the report, representatives of religious minority communities stated that, while the national government sometimes spoke out against incidents of violence, local political leaders often did not, and at times made public remarks that individuals could interpret as condoning violence.

"Members of civil society and religious minorities stated that under the current government, religious minority communities felt increasingly vulnerable due to Hindu nationalist groups engaging in violence against non-Hindu individuals and their places of worship, the report said.

"Authorities often did not prosecute violence by vigilantes against persons, mostly Muslims, suspected of slaughtering or illegally transporting cows or trading in or consuming beef,&nbsp;the report said.

Citing some court cases such as triple Talaq, it said many long-standing legal cases involving religiously motivated violence and riots continued to advance slowly.

"The government continued its challenge to the minority status of Muslim educational institutions in the Supreme Court. Minority status afforded these institutions independence in hiring and curriculum decisions,"&nbsp;it said.

It said on July 13, Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned a rise in deadly mob attacks on cattle traders, consumers of beef, and dairy farmers, and said killing persons in the name of protecting cows was unacceptable.&nbsp;

In a speech at University of Bangalore on August 7, then-Vice President of India Hamid Ansari said Dalits, Muslims, and Christians were feeling increasingly insecure, it noted. &nbsp;

In an August 10 interview, Ansari stated there was a feeling of "unease"&nbsp;and "insecurity creeping in"&nbsp;among Muslims in the country. His remarks drew criticism from the BJP and Hindu nationalist groups, the report said.

According to figures compiled by local partners of international non-governmental organisation (NGO) Open Doors, during the first six months of the year, Christians were harassed, threatened, or attacked for their faith in 410 reported incidents, compared with 441 incidents in all of 2016, the report said.

From January through May, the Ministry of Home Affairs reported 296 conflicts between religious communities, resulting in 44 deaths and 892 injuries, it said.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

The Congressional-mandated annual report on International Religious Freedom covering 2017 was released by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

Members of civil society and religious minorities in India were concerned over minority communities feeling "increasingly vulnerable" due to Hindu nationalist groups engaging in violence against them in 2017, a US report on international religious freedom said today. The Congressional-mandated annual report on International Religious Freedom covering 2017 was released by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. According to the report, representatives of religious minority communities stated that, while the national government sometimes spoke out against incidents of violence, local political leaders often did not, and at times made public remarks that individuals could interpret as condoning violence. "Members of civil society and religious minorities stated that under the current government, religious minority communities felt increasingly vulnerable due to Hindu nationalist groups engaging in violence against non-Hindu individuals and their places of worship, the report said. "Authorities often did not prosecute violence by vigilantes against persons, mostly Muslims, suspected of slaughtering or illegally transporting cows or trading in or consuming beef, the report said. Citing some court cases such as triple Talaq, it said many long-standing legal cases involving religiously motivated violence and riots continued to advance slowly. "The government continued its challenge to the minority status of Muslim educational institutions in the Supreme Court. Minority status afforded these institutions independence in hiring and curriculum decisions," it said. It said on July 13, Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned a rise in deadly mob attacks on cattle traders, consumers of beef, and dairy farmers, and said killing persons in the name of protecting cows was unacceptable. In a speech at University of Bangalore on August 7, then-Vice President of India Hamid Ansari said Dalits, Muslims, and Christians were feeling increasingly insecure, it noted. In an August 10 interview, Ansari stated there was a feeling of "unease" and "insecurity creeping in" among Muslims in the country. His remarks drew criticism from the BJP and Hindu nationalist groups, the report said. According to figures compiled by local partners of international non-governmental organisation (NGO) Open Doors, during the first six months of the year, Christians were harassed, threatened, or attacked for their faith in 410 reported incidents, compared with 441 incidents in all of 2016, the report said. From January through May, the Ministry of Home Affairs reported 296 conflicts between religious communities, resulting in 44 deaths and 892 injuries, it said.

Religious minority communities in India felt increasingly vulnerable in 2017: Report

Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said that &#39;&#39;Indian citizenship&#39;&#39; would be bestowed upon the members of the&nbsp;minority communities of Afganistan and Pakistan who have migrated to India before December 14.&nbsp;

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The Union home minister said &quot; I had earlier said people&nbsp;who have come to India from Pakistan and Afghanistan before December 14 due to religious persecution will be given Indian citizenship. &quot;&nbsp;

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Minority communities in Pak discriminated against.I had earlier said ppl who have come to India frm Pak&amp;Afghan before Dec&#39;14 due to religious persecution will be given Indian citizenship:Rajnath Singh at Distribution of Nationality Certificate to Sindhi Citizens&#39; event in Lucknow <a href="https://t.co/2BTA6f9a71">pic.twitter.com/2BTA6f9a71</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/955087701237100544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Rajnath Singh was speaking at the event &quot;Distribution of Nationality Certificate to Sindh Citizens&quot; in Lucknow.&nbsp;

He said 'I had earlier said people who have come to India from Pakistan and Afghanistan before December 14 due to religious persecution will be given Indian citizenship'

Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said that ''Indian citizenship'' would be bestowed upon the members of the minority communities of Afganistan and Pakistan who have migrated to India before December 14. × The Union home minister said " I had earlier said people who have come to India from Pakistan and Afghanistan before December 14 due to religious persecution will be given Indian citizenship. " Minority communities in Pak discriminated against.I had earlier said ppl who have come to India frm Pak&Afghan before Dec'14 due to religious persecution will be given Indian citizenship:Rajnath Singh at Distribution of Nationality Certificate to Sindhi Citizens' event in Lucknow pic.twitter.com/2BTA6f9a71 — ANI (@ANI) January 21, 2018 × Rajnath Singh was speaking at the event "Distribution of Nationality Certificate to Sindh Citizens" in Lucknow.

Citizenship will be given to minority communities who came to India before Dec 14: Rajnath Singh

Austria&#39;s chancellor today said he will seek to ban full-face veils in public, as part of a wide-ranging government programme aimed at fending off the challenge of the far-right.

&quot;The full-face veil will be banned in public spaces,&quot; Christian Kern said after ministers signed off on the new programme of policies set to be implemented over the coming 18 months.

There was no mention of a headscarf ban for civil servants, but the text said that state representatives must &quot;present themselves as religiously neutral&quot;.

Kern said he wanted to avoid &quot;giving 600,000 Muslims in Austria the feeling that they are not part of our society&quot;.

The 35-page programme also includes beefing up surveillance and security measures, obliging migrants granted the right to stay to sign an &quot;integration contract&quot; and a &quot;statement of values&quot;.

&quot;Those who are not prepared to accept Enlightenment values will have to leave our country and society,&quot; according to the text.

It also promises the government will lower taxes and non-wage labour costs, restrict access of foreign workers to the Austrian labour market and create 70,000 new jobs.

Many of the measures set out in the programme must be hammered out in detail and receive parliamentary approval before they can come into force.

The move comes eight months after Kern, 51, replaced Werner Faymann at the head of an unhappy &quot;grand coalition&quot; between his Social Democrats (SPOe) and the centre-right People&#39;s Party (OeVP).

Both are facing a strong challenge from the Freedom Party (FPOe), which like similar groups across Europe has stoked concerns about immigration, security and the EU to top opinion polls.

There has been speculation for months that the Austrian coalition might call early elections. Monday&#39;s programme was aimed at showing it aims to govern until its mandate expires in late 2018.

(AFP)

The new programme requires security measures obliging migrants to sign an 'integration contract' and a 'statement of values'

Austria's chancellor today said he will seek to ban full-face veils in public, as part of a wide-ranging government programme aimed at fending off the challenge of the far-right. "The full-face veil will be banned in public spaces," Christian Kern said after ministers signed off on the new programme of policies set to be implemented over the coming 18 months. There was no mention of a headscarf ban for civil servants, but the text said that state representatives must "present themselves as religiously neutral". Kern said he wanted to avoid "giving 600,000 Muslims in Austria the feeling that they are not part of our society". The 35-page programme also includes beefing up surveillance and security measures, obliging migrants granted the right to stay to sign an "integration contract" and a "statement of values". "Those who are not prepared to accept Enlightenment values will have to leave our country and society," according to the text. It also promises the government will lower taxes and non-wage labour costs, restrict access of foreign workers to the Austrian labour market and create 70,000 new jobs. Many of the measures set out in the programme must be hammered out in detail and receive parliamentary approval before they can come into force. The move comes eight months after Kern, 51, replaced Werner Faymann at the head of an unhappy "grand coalition" between his Social Democrats (SPOe) and the centre-right People's Party (OeVP). Both are facing a strong challenge from the Freedom Party (FPOe), which like similar groups across Europe has stoked concerns about immigration, security and the EU to top opinion polls. There has been speculation for months that the Austrian coalition might call early elections. Monday's programme was aimed at showing it aims to govern until its mandate expires in late 2018. (AFP)

Austria agrees to ban full-face Islamic veil in public

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