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Anti-Pakistan sentiment (also calledPakophobia orPakistanophobia)[1][2][3][4] refers to hatred, fear, hostility or irrational fixation towardPakistan,Pakistanis andPakistani culture and may manifest as racism, discrimination, or violence against Pakistanis on the basis of their national origin. In a political context, it usually refers to a pronounced dislike of Pakistan's actions or existence as a sovereign state. Additionally, hostility toward Pakistanis may also be motivated by other types of xenophobic sentiment, such asIslamophobia or broad racism targetingSouth Asian people as a whole.
Negative attitudes towards Pakistan have existed since the beginning of thePakistan Movement, which advocated the establishment of a separate state forMuslims in parts of erstwhileBritish India. The idea of Pakistan, as put forth by theAll-India Muslim League, was denounced by much of theIndian independence movement, in which many activistsopposed partitioning India. The creation of Pakistan occurred through thepartition of India in August 1947, resulting in widespread communal violence between Muslims and non-Muslims thatdisplaced 20 million people along religious lines, which laid the foundation for the ongoingIndia–Pakistan conflict. Beyond India, regional anti-Pakistan sentiment has existed in Afghanistan and Bangladesh, where it is primarily rooted in theDurand Line dispute since 1949 and theBangladesh genocide in 1971, respectively.
| Country polled | Positive | Negative | Neutral | Pos-Neg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 India | 5% | 85% | 10% | -80 |
 Brazil | 5% | 81% | 14% | -76 |
 United States | 14% | 71% | 15% | -57 |
 France | 16% | 72% | 12% | -56 |
 Mexico | 10% | 65% | 25% | -55 |
 Spain | 5% | 59% | 36% | -54 |
 Greece | 4% | 58% | 38% | -54 |
 Canada | 14% | 67% | 19% | -53 |
 Peru | 9% | 59% | 32% | -50 |
 Germany | 1% | 47% | 52% | -46 |
 Australia | 18% | 63% | 19% | -45 |
 Nigeria | 19% | 62% | 19% | -43 |
 United Kingdom | 28% | 62% | 10% | -34 |
 Russia | 10% | 40% | 50% | -30 |
 Turkey | 29% | 48% | 33% | -19 |
 Kenya | 36% | 35% | 29% | +1 |
 China | 47% | 44% | 9% | +3 |
 Indonesia | 38% | 22% | 40% | +16 |
Indian nationalists led byMahatma Gandhi andJawaharlal Nehru wanted to make what was thenBritish-ruled India, as well as the 562princely states under British paramountcy, into a single secular, democratic state.[6] TheAll India Azad Muslim Conference, which represented nationalist Muslims, gathered inDelhi in April 1940 to voice its support for anindependent and united India.[7] The colonial authorities, however, sidelined this nationalist Muslim organization and came to seeJinnah, who advocated separatism, as the sole representative of Indian Muslims.[8] This was viewed with dismay by manyIndian nationalists, who viewed Jinnah's ideology as damaging and unnecessarily divisive.
In an interview withLeonard Mosley, Nehru said that he and his fellow Congressmen were "tired" after the independence movement, so weren't ready to further drag on the matter for years with Jinnah'sMuslim League, and that, anyway, they "expected that partition would be temporary, that Pakistan would come back to us."[9]Gandhi also thought that thePartition would be undone.[10] TheAll India Congress Committee, in a resolution adopted on 14 June 1947, openly stated that "geography and the mountains and the seas fashionedIndia as she is, and no human agency can change that shape or come in the way of its final destiny… at when present passions have subsided, India’s problems will be viewed in their proper perspective and the false doctrine of two nations will be discredited and discarded by all."[11]
V.P. Menon, who had an important role in the transfer of power in 1947, quotes another major Congress politician,Abul Kalam Azad, who said that "the division is only of the map of the country and not in the hearts of the people, and I am sure it is going to be a short-lived partition."[12]Acharya Kripalani, President of theCongress during the days of Partition, stated that making India "a strong, happy, democratic and socialist state" would ensure that "such an India can win back the seceding children to its lap... for the freedom we have achieved cannot be complete without the unity of India."[13] Yet another leader of the Congress,Sarojini Naidu, said that she did not considerIndia's flag to be India's because "India is divided" and that "this is merely a temporary geographical separation. There is no spirit of separation in the heart of India."[14]
Giving a more general assessment,Paul Brass says that "many speakers in theConstituent Assembly expressed the belief that theunity of India would be ultimately restored."[15]
Hindu nationalists in India support the idea ofAkhand Bharat, 'undivided India', and consider thepartition of India an illegitimate act. Already in early June 1947 the All India Committee of theHindu Mahasabha issued a resolution, where it stated that "[t]his Committee deeply deplores that the Indian National Congress, after having given solemn assurance to the Hindu electorates that it stood by the unity of India and would oppose the disintegration of India, has betrayed the country by agreeing to the partition of India without a referendum. The Committee declares that Hindus are not bound by this commitment of Congress. It reiterates that India is one and indivisible and that there will never be peace unless and until the separated areas are brought back into the Indian Union and made integral parts thereof."[16]
As per journalistEric Margolis, "to Hindu nationalists, even the continued existence of Pakistan constitutes a threat to the Indian union, as well as a painful affront to their sense of national importance and a galling reminder of their hated historical enemy, theMuslimMogul Empire."[17] TheBharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS), a direct precedent of theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the current ruling party which came out of its split, during the 50s and 60s, considered "the ultimate aim ofIndian foreign policy in the region to be the reassimilation of Pakistan into an undivided India ('Bharath')."[18] During thedemolition of the Babri Masjid, Hindu nationalist elements who participated to its destruction were heard with the slogan "Babur ki santan, jao Pakistan ya Qabristan! (Descendants ofBabur, go to Pakistan or the graveyard!)", thus considering Pakistan, as a modern-State, a continuation of what they consider to be Islamic imperialism in the region.[19]
M. S. Golwalkar, who was the leader of theRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and thus one of the most important Hindu nationalist voices, also saw Pakistan as continuing "Islamic aggression" againstHindus: "The naked fact remains that an aggressive Muslim State has been carved out of our own motherland. From the day the so-called Pakistan came into being, we in Sangh have been declaring that it is a clear case of continued Muslim aggression (...) we of the Sangh have been, in fact, hammering this historical truth for the last so many years. Some time ago, the noted world historian Prof.Arnold Toynbee, came forward to confirm it. He visited our country twice, studied our national development at close quarters, and wrote an article setting forth the correct historical perspective of Partition. Therein he has unequivocally stated that the creation of Pakistan is the first successful step of the Muslims in this 20th century to realise their twelve-hundred-year-old dream of complete subjugation of this country."[20]
On the more popular level, there have been many anti-Pakistan rallies involving the burning or desecration ofPakistani flags.[21]
In February 2011, theShiv Sena stated that it would not allowPakistan to play any2011 Cricket World Cup matches inMumbai.[22]Pakistan Hockey Federation also feared of sending the national hockey of Pakistan because of anti-Pakistani sentiment in India.[23] The state ofMaharashtra, where Shiv Sena is prominent, has been deemed an unsafe venue for hosting visiting Pakistani teams.[24] Shiv Sena has periodically disrupted cricketing occasions involving the two countries. In 1999, it tampered the pitch atFeroz Shah Kotla Ground to stop a match between the two sides, while during the2006 Champions Trophy it made threats against hosting Pakistan's matches inJaipur andMohali.[25] Post-2008, it has frequently threatened against the resumption of a bilateral Indo-Pakistani cricket series. In October 2015, Shiv Sena activists barged into the headquarters of theBoard of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in Mumbai, chanting anti-Pakistan slogans and stopping a scheduled meeting betweenBCCI presidentShashank Manohar and thePakistan Cricket Board'sShahryar Khan andNajam Sethi.[25]In the 2023 Cricket World Cup, Pakistan Cricket Fans and media personnel were barred from attending the group stage match between the two nations.[26]
Several majorBollywood films have depictedPakistan in a hostile manner by portrayingPakistanis and the state as a hostile enemy.[27] Other Bollywood movies, however, have been highly popular in Pakistan andIndia's Bollywood movie star. Although Bollywood films were banned for 40 years prior to 2008 becauseIndian culture was officially viewed as being "vulgar", there had been an active black market during the period and little was done to disrupt it.[28][29][30][31]
In 2012,Raj Thackeray and his partyMaharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) told Indian singerAsha Bhosle not to co-judge inSur Kshetra, a musical reality show aired on a local television channel that featured Pakistani artists alongside Indians. The MNS threatened to disrupt the shoot among other consequences if the channel went on to air the show. However, amid tight security in a hotel conference, Bhosle played down the threat, saying she only understood the language of music and did not understand politics.[32] In the past,Shiv Sena has disrupted concerts by Pakistani artists in India.[25] In October 2015, Shiv Sena activists assaulted Indian journalistSudheendra Kulkarni and blackened his face with ink; Kulkarni was due to host a launch event for former Pakistani foreign affairs ministerKhurshid Mahmud Kasuri's book inMumbai.[25] The Shiv Sena have also blocked the screening or promotion ofPakistani films in Indian cinemas, orIndian films starring Pakistani actors, as well as threatening Pakistani artists inMaharashtra.[33][34][35]
According to one Indian minister,Kiren Rijiju, much of the obsession with Pakistan is limited toNorth India due to historical and cultural reasons.[36]
Following theUri attack in 2016, due to which tensions escalated between India and Pakistan, anti-Pakistan sentiments became more pronounced; the Indian Motion Picture Producers' Association voted to ban Pakistani artists from working in Bollywood.[37]
The relationship betweenBangladesh andPakistan is poor as a result of the1971 Bangladesh genocide inflicted by thePakistan Army during theBangladesh liberation War. Due to political, economic, linguistic and ethnic discrimination by thePakistani state before independence in 1971, some people in Bangladesh had anti-Pakistan sentiment.[38] TheGovernment of Bangladesh demands a formal apology for those atrocities from theGovernment of Pakistan, as well as putting on trial former military and political leaders who had played a role in the 1971 genocide. Pakistan has continued to ignore this demand.[39] And has stood in solidarity with convicted war criminals[40]
However, many other sources including Bengali/Bangladeshi sources[41] have challenged the Bangladeshi narrative of the war, such as the alleged genocidal acts by the Pakistani armed forces including mass rape.[42]
Pakistani writers meanwhile have also published their own works challenging the allegations of the Bangladeshi government on the events of the 1971 war.[43]
In 2012,Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) abandoned a planned cricket tour in Pakistan indefinitely amid fears over players' safety, following protests byBangladeshis and aFacebook campaign against the visit.[44]
In response toPakistan's National Assembly adopting a resolution to condemn the allegedwar criminalAbdul Quader Mollah execution, protests were held outside the Pakistan High Commission.[45]
A 2014 PEW opinion poll found that 50% of Bangladeshis held a favorable view of Pakistan.[46]
Afghanistan–Pakistan relations have been negatively affected since Pakistan's independence from the British Raj. American scholars cite that Afghanistan was the only country to vote against Pakistan's admittance into the United Nations. They also cited Afghanistan's hostility against Pakistan since its independence from British rule.[47]
Issues related to theDurand Line, the 1978–presentwar (i.e.Mujahideen,Afghan refugees,Taliban insurgency andborder skirmishes), includingwater and the growinginfluence of India in Afghanistan.[48][49] Most major attacks inAfghanistan are blamed on neighboringPakistan andIran. This makes anti-Pakistan sentiment run high in the country, particularly among theAfghan politicians.[50] In response to Afghan support for Baloch insurgents, since the 1970s onwards, Pakistan supported rebels such asGulbuddin Hekmatyar,Ahmad Shah Massoud,[51]Haqqanis,Taliban,[52] and others against thegovernments of Afghanistan.
In the 1990s,Pakistan's support for the Taliban movement led to strong anti-Pakistan sentiments in Afghanistan. According to Pakistan and Afghanistan expertAhmed Rashid, "between 1994 and 1999, an estimated 80,000 to 100,000Pakistanis trained and fought in Afghanistan" keeping theTaliban regime in power.[53] The role of thePakistani military during that time has been described by international observers as a "creeping invasion" of Afghanistan.[53]UN documents also reveal the role ofArab and Pakistani support troops inTaliban massacre campaigns.[54] In addition, Pakistan's funding and support of warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who sieged the city ofKabul with rockets for three years which killed thousands of civilians, has also played a part in anti-Pakistan sentiment.[55]
In the course of the Taliban insurgency anti-Pakistan sentiment was again fuelled after a spate ofsuicide bombings by the Taliban, which in 2011 and 2012 caused 80% of the civilian casualties in Afghanistan, and which the Afghan government and many international officials claim is supported by Pakistan.[56][57] Demonstrations in Afghanistan have denounced Pakistan politically for its alleged role in Taliban attacks.[58] Afghan leaders such asAmrullah Saleh orAhmad Wali Massoud (a younger brother of Ahmad Shah Massoud) have said, that their criticism is directed at the politics of the Pakistani military and not at Pakistan as a country. Both reiterated the distinction by saying that the Pakistani people had been very generous in providing shelter toAfghan refugees but that it was the policy of the Pakistani military which had caused so much suffering to theAfghan people.[59]
Anti-Pakistan sentiment has increased in Afghanistan after hundreds of suicide bombings and assassinations.[56] In 2017 there were large protests in parts ofAfghan provinces, alleging that Pakistan was sponsoring unrest in the country.[60]
After theJuly 2005 bombings in London, there were waves of "Pakistanophobia" inFrance. A Pakistani community leader said a "right-wing newspaper, for instance, launched a ferocious campaign againstPakistanis in France and placed them in one basket, calling them a 'cause for concern.'"[61]
There has been some anti-Pakistani sentiment inIsrael because of its involvement in anti-Israeli campaigns. During the1965 Indo-Pakistani war, Israel played a major role in convincing theUnited States not to send weapons toPakistan, indirectly leading it to impose an embargo on Pakistan.[62] The anniversary of theIndo-Pakistani war of 1971 is regularly marked in Israel with tributes paid to theIndian Armed Forces.[63]
Israeli journalists have also criticizedPakistan's nuclear weapons program.[64]
As of 2005[update], theUnited Kingdom had the largest overseas Pakistani community, who are known asBritish Pakistanis.[65] There have been periodic ethnic tensions faced by the Pakistani community. Theethnic slur "Paki" was commonly used to refer to Pakistanis. However, the term has also been used for non-PakistaniSouth Asians. The word is being reclaimed by younger British Pakistanis, who use it themselves although this remains controversial.[66]
British Pakistanis were eight times more likely to be victims of a racially motivated attack than white people in 1996.[67] The chances of a Pakistani being racially attacked in a year is more than 4% – the highest rate in the country, along withBritish Bangladeshis – though this has come down from 8% a year in 1996.[citation needed] According to a 2016YouGov survey, around 20% of respondents were against admitting immigrants fromPakistan and four other countries – Turkey, Egypt, Romania and Nigeria.[68]
Starting in the late 1960s,[69] and peaking in the 1970s and 1980s, violent gangs opposed to immigration took part in frequent attacks known as "Paki-bashing", which targeted and assaultedPakistanis and otherBritish South Asians.[70] "Paki-bashing" was unleashed afterEnoch Powell's inflammatoryRivers of Blood speech in 1968,[69] and peaked during the 1970s–1980s, with the attacks mainly linked tofar-rightfascist,racist andanti-immigrant movements, including thewhite power skinheads, theNational Front, and theBritish National Party (BNP).[71][72] These attacks were usually referred to as either "Paki-bashing" or "skinheadterror", with the attackers usually called "Paki-bashers" or "skinheads".[69] "Paki-bashing" was also fueled by the media's anti-immigrant and anti-Pakistani rhetoric at the time,[72] and by systemic failures of state authorities, which included under-reporting racist attacks, the criminal justice system not taking racist attacks seriously, constant racial harassment by police, and sometimes police involvement in racist violence.[69]
Public opinion polling shows that theUnited States has one of the most anti-Pakistan sentiment of any country with 69% expressing a negative view in a 2014 BBC poll.[73]
Since theSeptember 11, 2001 attacks,Pakistani-Americans have been targeted more often inhate crime attacks. Pakistani Americans are subjected to greater scrutiny in airport security checks. Up to 45,000 of the estimated 100,000-strong Pakistani community inNew York were deported or left voluntarily following the attacks.[74] Following these attacks, a fewPakistanis have identified themselves as "Indians"[a] to avoid discrimination and obtain jobs.[75]
In 2006, Hasan, aPrinceton University graduate, was arrested byImmigration and Customs Enforcement officials who allegedly tortured him, accusing him of having ties toAl Qaeda before deporting him to Pakistan. In 2009, his wife formally requested theU.S. Embassy in Islamabad review his case in 2009.[76]
even though it was easy to fan Pakophobia under the circumstances.43 The Prime Minister of Pakistan, on the other hand, asserted that Nehru was not afraid of aggression from Pakistan, but was protesting against US aid for fear of..
Masoud, an ethnic Tajik, studied engineering before the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan and then moved to Pakistan for military training.
During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing today, Admiral Michael Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, highlighted the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence Agency's role in sponsoring the Haqqani Network – including attacks on American forces in Afghanistan. "The fact remains that the Quetta Shura [Taliban] and the Haqqani Network operate from Pakistan with impunity," Mullen said in his written testimony. "Extremist organizations serving as proxies of the government of Pakistan are attacking Afghan troops and civilians as well as US soldiers." Mullen continued: "For example, we believe the Haqqani Network—which has long enjoyed the support and protection of the Pakistani government and is, in many ways, a strategic arm of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Agency—is responsible for the 13 September attacks against the U.S. Embassy in Kabul."
Angry protests against Afghan President Hamid Karzai erupted Friday at the burial of his government's chief peace negotiator, who was killed this week by a suicide bomber posing as a Taliban envoy. The daylong funeral observances for Burhanuddin Rabbani, a former president, brought Afghanistan's capital to a near-standstill, with some of the heaviest security in recent memory. Police and soldiers in armored vehicles patrolled the streets, checkpoints dotted major boulevards and traffic circles, and a large part of central Kabul was blocked to all but foot traffic. Helicopters buzzed overhead. ...Mourners also shouted slogans denouncing Pakistan, which is seen as fomenting insurgent violence ...
Its first recorded use was in 1964, when hostility in Britain to immigration from its former colonies in the Asian sub-continent, was beginning to find a voice.
Media related toAnti-Pakistan sentiment at Wikimedia Commons
