Past Event

Religious Intolerance in Pakistan and the Plight of Religious Minorities

In recent years, Pakistan—a Sunni Muslim majority country with Shia Muslim, Christian, and Hindu minorities—has been convulsed by sectarian violence. More than 2,000 people have been killed in sectarian attacks since 2008, and last year sectarian killings rose by more than a fifth from 2012. Farahnaz Ispahani, a Wilson Center Public Policy Scholar and former Pakistani parliamentarian and journalist, will discuss the roots of Pakistan’s sectarianism and her broader Wilson Center project—an analysis of Pakistan’s policies toward its religious minority populations (Muslim and non-Muslim) since independence.  

Speaker

Hosted By

Indo-Pacific Program

The Indo-Pacific Program promotes policy debate and intellectual discussions on US interests in the Asia-Pacific as well as political, economic, security, and social issues relating to the world’s most populous and economically dynamic region.    Read more

Indo-Pacific Program

Middle East Program

The Wilson Center’s Middle East Program serves as a crucial resource for the policymaking community and beyond, providing analyses and research that helps inform US foreign policymaking, stimulates public debate, and expands knowledge about issues in the wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.   Read more

Middle East Program