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Pakistan

• Forcibly Married Christian Teen Rescued

  

  Saba Masih is a teenage girl from Faisalabad, Pakistan. The young Christian was walking with her older sister Muqadas on the morning of May 20th when they were approached by four men, including their neighbour Muhammad Yasir. The men forced Saba into a rickshaw and then fled.

• Two Slain During Attack on Pastor's Family

  

  Pastor Adam has faced repeated death threats because of his ministry work among Pakistani Christians who have converted from a Muslim background. During Ramadan, Islamic zeal runs particularly high, which can lead to religiously motivated violence by militants. Such was the case on the night of April 11th.

• Two Teenage Girls Recently Kidnapped

  

  After more than two weeks of apparent investigative searching, police have been unable to find two Christian girls who were kidnapped on March 7th from the Christian colony of Ghaziabad Aorangi Town which is located within the capital city of Karachi. A Christian lawyer involved in the case stated that, because the girls are Christians and their families are poor, the police have shown little interest in finding them. She asserted, "Police often side with the criminals, while courts bring Sharia law into consideration and decide these cases in favour of the kidnappers."

• Blasphemy Charges for Alleged Facebook Post

  

  Fansan Shahid, a 54-year-old Christian from Gujranwala in Punjab Province, is in federal custody with charges predicated on a blasphemous comment he allegedly made in a Facebook post during 2019. Fansan was arrested just after midnight on March 16th when more than a dozen police officers stormed into his house and began beating him before taking him into custody.

• Young Christian Woman Kidnapped

  

  Two years ago, Abida Mukhtar's husband died of a heart attack. Finding herself in need of assistance with necessary adjustments regarding his government pension, the grieving Christian widow turned to a Muslim neighbour, Nisar Jogi, who claimed that he could help expedite the process.

• Pastors Ambushed; One Fatally Wounded

  

  Two pastors were leaving All Saints' Church in Peshawar, Pakistan, together after the January 30th service when their car was ambushed by gunmen riding a motorcycle. Pastor William Siraj was fatally shot, and Pastor Patrick Naeem needed to be rushed to the hospital where he was treated and then released.

• Christian Girls Abducted

  

  At least four Pakistani Christian girls have been kidnapped in the first two weeks of 2022, continuing a trend that has become increasingly prevalent across the country. In many cases, the abducted girls are forcibly converted to Islam, married to their kidnappers, and then held in captivity – an outcome justified by fraudulent marriage and conversion certificates. To read about previous instances, go to our country report.

• Death Penalty for Longtime Prisoner; Bail for Another

  

  On January 3rd, a judge at the Rawalpindi District Court in Pakistan ruled to change a Christian pastor's sentence of life imprisonment to the death penalty. Zafar Bhatti has been imprisoned on charges of blasphemy since July 2012. After five years, he was ultimately convicted and sentenced to life in prison. The charges arise from an alleged text message, yet Zafar denies that the phone in question was even registered to his name. For more information on the ordeal facing this Pakistani pastor, view these reports.

• Teenager Safely Returns Home

  

  In October 2020, Arzoo Raja was abducted from her family home in Pakistan, forced to convert to Islam, and then married against her will to the perpetrator of the crime – all this occurring when she was only at the age of 13. Her concerned Christian parents took legal action against her abductor and, ultimately, the courts nullified the young teen's marriage because of her age. However, due to the coercion and pressure she continued to receive from her kidnapper and others, Arzoo initially did not want to return home. So, instead, she was placed in a shelter. While any access to the attacker was forbidden, visits with her family and others were permitted only when requested by Arzoo. Previously posted information on this case is available here.

• Christian Prisoner Acquitted

  

  Blasphemy accusations have been used as weapons against Christians in Pakistan for many years. The world's attention was most recently drawn to this situation through the case of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman who was accused in 2009 and sentenced to death. After finally being acquitted and released ten years later, Asia was forced to secretly flee the country.