The persecution facing Christians in Pakistan frequently comes from a lack of equal treatment by authorities. Such appears to be the case for the family of Mansha Masih in the village of Gadi Wind in the Kasur district south of Lahore.
Mansha and his family are poor labourers. He lives in a home that has been in the family for forty years. Recently, however, a prominent Muslim businessman named Nazar Mohammad has laid claim to the property. The dispute is currently before the courts but that did not stop Nazar from taking matters into his own hands, apparently with the approval of the authorities.
According to a report received from VOMC sources on June 26, Mansha's wife, Arshad Bibi, was alone at home with their two-year-old daughter and newborn son when Nazar Mohammad and several others, accompanied by some police officers, entered the home. They beat Arshad and began throwing the belongings out of their home and then bulldozed the building. Sadly, the newborn son was on a bed when it was thrown out of the house and died from chest injuries. When the baby was found dead, the police officers fled the scene.
When Mansha attempted to file a complaint on the incident with the local police, the police superintendent threatened him if he said anything. Mansha then took the baby's body to the hospital, but Nazar was already there speaking with the doctor and consequently, the death was ruled to be from starvation. The family is now left without a home and Nazar has begun construction on the land.
Pray that Mansha and his wife will find comfort in the fact that they will see their little one again (2 Samuel 12:23). Pray that Arshad will find both physical and emotional healing from the attack and that the family will find a safe place to live. Ask God to strengthen them to forgive their persecutors and maintain a consistent testimony before them (Matthew 5:16, 43-44).
For more information on the persecution of Christians in Pakistan, click here.
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