Christian World | A Vatican-backed Islamabad conference urged religious freedom in Pakistan; the law minister said a minority rights commission will start within weeks

ACW | November 12, 2026 — The Islamabad High Court Bar Association and the Vatican's embassy in Pakistan called for religious freedom and equal citizenship for people of all faiths at a national conference in Islamabad, Vatican News reported.

The National Interfaith Harmony and Peace Conference, held under the theme "Building Bridges of Faith, Justice and Peace," met at the bar association's complex. The speeches were delivered on Wednesday, The Nation newspaper reported.

"The Holy See does not remain indifferent when human life is endangered, destroyed or discriminated against," said Archbishop Germano Penemote, the apostolic nuncio to Pakistan.

Msgr. Indunil Kodithuwakku, secretary of the Vatican's Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, said: "Religious freedom is not a concession made by one community to another." A society does not grow weaker because its citizens worship God differently, he added.

Federal Minister for Minorities Khel Das Kohistani called forced conversions a serious concern and urged legal safeguards, according to Vatican News.

Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said the National Commission for Minority Rights, created under a 2025 law, is expected to become functional "within weeks," The Nation reported. He said the prime minister and the opposition leader in the National Assembly were working on appointing its chair and members.

Background: The chief justices of the Federal Shariat Court and the Islamabad High Court, Muslim, Sikh and Hindu leaders, and Archbishop Joseph Arshad, president of the Pakistan Catholic Bishops' Conference, also attended, Vatican News said.

Why it matters: Pakistan's minorities minister told the conference that forced conversions are a serious concern. Tarar said the new minority rights commission was drafted after about two years of consultations with religious minority communities.

ACW will continue to follow this story.

Sources: Vatican News — Pakistan: Interfaith conference calls for religious freedom and equal citizenship; The Nation — Minority Rights Commission to be functional within weeks: Tarar

Photo: Vatican News