Abstract
Religious and violent extremism has taken Pakistan in its grips. There are various driving forces behind violent extremism; the target of which are innocent lives. Among others religious minorities are the most effected. The founding father of Pakistan laid the dream of equality and equal right for minorities. Pakistan was declared as an Islamic Republic in the 1949 Objective Resolution, which guarantees equal fundamental rights and protection against any discrimination. Similarly, the three constitutions – 1956, 1962 and 1973 – reiterate this guarantee. Religious minorities have their representation in the Provincial and National Assemblies; however, they do not have the legislation power as opposed by others. The situation at present is threatening the basic human rights of an individual through suppression and religious extremism, which is not limited to Christians but is also aimed at Muslim minority sects. Furthermore, the misuse of laws like Blasphemy Laws further intensifies their plight. The growing religious intolerance and discrimination is a widely debated subject, however, it lacks a detailed scholarship on why, how and who carry out these acts of extremism against religious minorities and, how the government in the presence of laws has responded to and addressed the problem.