After Islam, Hinduism is the second most popular religion in Pakistan. Although the Pakistan Hindu Council asserts that there are 8 million Hindus living in Pakistan and that they make up 4% of the population, Hinduism is no longer the predominant religion in the region as it was hundreds of years ago. Instead, today Hindus make up 2.14 percent of Pakistan's population or 4.4 million people.

Hindus made up 14% of the population in West Pakistan (now Pakistan) and 28% of the population in East Pakistan before the partition, according to the 1941 census (now Bangladesh). 4.7 million Hindus and Sikhs from West Pakistan fled to India as refugees after Pakistan won independence from the British Raj. Hindus made up 22 percent of East Pakistan's population and 1.6% of West Pakistan's in the first census that was conducted following, in 1951.

The 'two-nation hypothesis' was advocated at the time Pakistan was established. This argument held that in order to guarantee the protection of the Muslim minority in India, the Hindu minority in Pakistan needed to receive a fair deal.

 'You will find that over time Hindus will cease to be Hindus and Muslims will cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as the citizens of the State,' said Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the country's founder, in a speech to the constituent assembly of Pakistan.

Khawaja Nazimuddin, Pakistan's second prime minister, disagreed, saying: 'I do not believe that religion is a personal concern, and I do not agree that in an Islamic state every citizen has the same rights regardless of caste, creed, or faith.'

Over 4.7 million Hindus and Sikhs from West Pakistan fled to India when Pakistan gained its independence in 1947, while 6.5 million Muslims decided to immigrate to Pakistan. The intense communal tension under the British Raj, people's deep mistrust of one another, the savagery of violent mobs, and the hostility between the religious groups were the causes of this migration.

The fact that more than 1 million people died in the terrible turmoil of 1947 should serve as evidence of the terror and hatred that millions of Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs felt as they hurriedly abandoned their ancestral homes following independence.

The Pakistani government-designated 32 castes and tribes, the bulk of whom were Hindu, as scheduled castes in 1956. These castes included the Kohlis, Meghawars, and Bheels. Hindus are separated from members of scheduled castes in the Pakistan Census, which estimates that they make up 0.41 percent of the country's population as of the 2017 census (up from 0.25 percent in the 1998 census). However, since Scheduled Caste Hindus classify themselves as Hindus in the census rather than Scheduled Castes, the real population of Scheduled Caste Hindus is anticipated to be significantly larger.

Numerous Pakistani girls from minority religions, particularly Hindus, are forcibly converted to Islam every year. According to the Pakistan Hindu Council (PHC) and the National Commission of Justice and Peace, about 1000 non-Muslim minority women are forcibly converted to Islam before being forced into marriage. Usually, males hunting for brides or complicit friends and family members kidnap the girls. The authorities sometimes turn a blind eye when their farmhand parents' debts are collected from them by strong landowners. Forced conversions are supported by religious organizations and individuals, including politicians and dargah keepers, who are also known to support and defend Sindh's main political parties.

Bills have been passed against this but never succeeded to make it a law, firstly by political parties like the Council of Islamic Ideology and Jamaat-e-Islami, and next by the Pakistan People’s Republic party lawmakers.

For the purpose of quickly obtaining Watan Cards and National Identification Cards, many Hindus are encouraged to convert to Islam. Additionally, land and cash were offered to these converts.