19 Jan 2021 Human rights activists have reported a negative trend in Pakistan’s violations of religious freedom, insisting 2020 saw a marked increase in persecution of Christians and other religious minorities. Cecil Chaudhry, executive director of the National Commission of Justice and Peace, told UCANews that incidents of forced conversions and marriages, hate speech against religious and sectarian minorities, and killings in the name of religion had all increased in Pakistan during 2020, according to a report published Monday. Pakistan stood at number 5 on the recently released World Watch List, an index of Christian persecution in countries around the world, compiled by the Christian aid organization Open Doors.