How many registered religious minority voters are in Pakistan?

As per the recent province-wise religion report of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), there are 30 lac, 78 thousand, 3 hundred and 6 voters from religious minorities in Pakistan.

Out of 40 thousand 781 minority voters in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 3516 are Bahai, 220 Buddist, 28080 Christian, 4209 Hindu, 723 Parsi, 1149 Ahmadi, and 2884 Sikh.

In former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) there are 3539 religious minority voters out of which 400 are Bahai, 41 Buddist, 1446 Christian, 669 Hindu, 16 Parsi, 23 Ahmadi, and 944 Sikh.

For 12 lac 59 thousand 303 minority voters in Punjab, 18102 are Bahai, 786 Buddist, 1057071 Christian, 73456 Hindu, 262 Parsi, 108538 Ahmadi, and 1088 Sikh.

In Sindh, there are 16 lac 80 thousand 582 minority voters, out of which 7269 are Bahai, 495 Buddist, 228552 Christian, 1423276 Hindu, 2787 Parsi, 16668 Ahmadi, and 1535 Sikh.

Balochistan has 44 thousand 930 minority voters, out of which 1387 are Bahai, 1387 Buddist, 18702 Christian, 18702 Hindu, 265 Parsi, 549 Ahmadi, and 272 Sikh.

In the Federal Capital, there are 44 thousand 783 minority voters, out of which 242 are Bahai, 41 Buddist, 40518 Christian, 276 Hindu, 16 Parsi, 3677 Ahmadi, and 13 Sikh.

Although elections are not happening in Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir in February 2024, ECP did share detailed data of these areas too.

Out of 653 minority voters in Gilgit Baltistan, 472 are Bahai, 5 Buddist, 147 Christian, 8 Hindu, 16 Ahmadi, 5 Sikh, and none from the Parsi community.

Azad Jammu and Kashmir has 3735 minority voters out of which 1083 are Bahai, 23 Buddist, 987 Christian, 45 Hindu, 13 Parsi, 1580 Ahmadi, and 4 Sikh.

As Pakistan gears up for nationwide parliamentary elections in February 2024, a significant portion of the population, the Ahmadiyya community, faces disenfranchisement due to discriminatory provisions in the electoral law.

Current electoral regulations in Pakistan effectively exclude Ahmadis from the voting process based on their religious beliefs.

To register as voters, members of the Ahmadiyya community are compelled to either renounce their faith or accept placement in a distinct electoral list categorizing them as “non-Muslim.”

However, self-identification as Muslim is a fundamental tenet of Ahmadiyya religious belief.

This exclusionary practice has resulted in the denial of voting rights for Ahmadis, who comprise over 500,000 individuals in Pakistan.

Despite their significant numbers, Ahmadis find themselves unable to participate in local, provincial, and national elections.

It is noteworthy that in 2002, Pakistan discontinued an electoral system that segregated Muslims and non-Muslims into separate categories for registration and voting.

However, discriminatory measures persist, particularly affecting the Ahmadiyya community’s ability to exercise their

The government also created a separate category for Ahmadis. Since then, all Pakistani citizens have voted according to a single electoral list except the Ahmadis, who vote on a separate list.