flee before the crack of dawn, hiding in fields and with relatives who lived in neighbouring districts while mobs ransacked and looted with complete impunity.17 9. In December 2020 a violent mob set fire to a Hindu temple in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Crowds of thousands, reportedly led by Islamic clerics, descended on the Hindu temple in the village of Teri, in Karak district, on Wednesday and began to rip bricks from the walls and set it on fire.18 Overall, the Ahmaddiya community recorded at least 35 attacks on its places of worship between 2023-2024 while 21 Ahmadis were arrested for various offences against religion. According to civil society reports, at least 136 persons cases of alleged forced conversion occurred during 2023, the majority of whom were Hindu women and girls in Sindh. Alarmingly, the provinces of Punjab and Sindh, where terrorism incidents were previously lower compared to other provinces, have witnessed the highest number of incidents against minority communities. 142 in Punjab and 47 in Sindh in 2023 alone. These numbers reflect the grave reality that minorities face in Pakistan which indicates the need for immediate action for the protection of their rights. Actions undertaken by NCHR While the State has a direct responsibility under international law to ensure that racial discrimination is curbed within its jurisdiction, NCHR, as Pakistan’s premier NHRI has undertaken various actions to alleviate ethnic, and religious minorities from the grave issues they continue to face in the country. To this end, the following actions have been undertaken: a. Issue of Discriminatory Advertisements: In response to complaints that the Government had issued advertisements to hire sanitary workers exclusively from the Christian and Hindu communities, the NCHR advised the Government to remove discriminatory standards within such advertisements which were contrary to the Constitution of Pakistan. The Government took notice of this advice and banned discriminatory columns in public advertisements and removed all requirements as to religion from the advertisements. b. Protection of Sanitary Workers: Continuing its efforts to end discrimination against religious minorities within the sanitation industry in Pakistan, the NCHR published a report on the status of sanitary workers in the country. In its special report titled 17 “Jaranwala Incident: Pakistan Christian Community's Loss And Pain,” available at: https://thefridaytimes.com/13-Oct2023/jaranwala-incident-pakistan-christian-community-s-loss-and-pain 18 “Mob attacks and sets fire to Hindu temple in Pakistan,” available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/30/mobtears-down-hindu-temple-and-torch-holy-shrine-in-pakistan 11