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Pakistan

• No Church Allowed in Village

  

  Six months after Christians in the village of Nayya Sarabah were stopped from meeting for worship, the community's officials are now demanding that the church building be destroyed. Local Muslims are refusing to allow a church facility within the village.

  Since the construction of the church building in 2012, services have been held regularly for the past several years. However, in December 2016, local Muslims objected. After negotiations, a compromise was reached, allowing the church members to continue meeting. One year later, in December 2017, an application was submitted to the local police station and the church members were forced to sign a pledge, stating that they would no longer meet in the village. Authorities claimed that this legal agreement was for their own safety, explaining that the police were unable to provide security for them.

• Christian Beaten to Death by Police
  
  Photo: Morning Star News

  Christians in Pakistan frequently face false accusations from community members and authorities. In a recent case on May 29th, such an allegation resulted in the death of a 24-year-old Christian. According to relatives, Waqas Masih was assisting his uncle with a construction project when police approached on the pretence of drugs.

  The three involved police officers, who were known for blackmailing the poor, demanded money from the uncle, Saleem Masih. As a heated argument ensued and threats were made against all present, Wasaq panicked and fled. The officers chased after him. By the time his family arrived, the officers had already caught up to Wasaq and beaten him to death. The police claim that he had simply fallen.

• Chief Justice to Hear Asia Bibi's Appeal

  

  There is a mixture of hope and scepticism among Pakistani Christians with the latest development in the case of Asia Bibi who was sentenced to death for blasphemy in 2009. The Chief Justice of Pakistan's Supreme Court, Mian Saqib Nisar, stated on April 21st that Asia's appeal would be heard soon and that he will personally preside over the case. Another time, he mentioned that all appeals before the Supreme Court would be decided by July.

• Christian Woman Dies After Being Set on Fire
  
  Photo: UCA News

  A 25-year-old Christian woman has died after a Muslim suitor set her on fire for refusing his marriage proposal. On April 17th, Asma Yaqoob was working as a maid at a home in Sialkot when she heard someone at the front gate. When she went to see who it was, Asma was met by Rizwan Gujjar who doused her in flammable liquid and lit her on fire, resulting in third-degree burns over 90 percent of her body.

• Acquittal of 20 Accused for Burning Christian Couple
  
  Shama and Shahzad

  Shahzad Masih (26) and his pregnant wife, Shama (24), were disposing of garbage in the village of Kot Radhakishan in November 2014 when Shama allegedly burned pages from the Quran (see this page).

  After news of the incident had spread around the community, a frenzied mob consisting of hundreds gathered demanding their death. Ultimately, the young couple were thrown into a brick kiln where they were burned to death. It was later determined that they had been falsely accused. It is believed that the rumours were started because the impoverished couple owed the kiln owner money.

• Religious Declaration Required on All Identification
  Having to declare their faithmakes Christians even morevulnerable to persecution.
  Photo: World Watch Monitor

  Christians and other religious minorities have reason for concern after a March 9th ruling from the Islamabad High Court mandated that a person's religion must be declared on all government-issued identification. Any citizen who disguises their true religion will be guilty of betraying the state. Documentation includes birth certificates, passports, voters' lists, and national ID cards. Anyone applying for a government job will also have to declare their religion.

• Family Attacked for Building Church Wall
  
  Photo: World Watch Monitor

  Five members of a Christian family in northeast Pakistan were attacked and injured as they helped to build a wall around their church on Sunday, March 4th. As church members were inside praying, George Masih, 70, was overseeing the construction of the building project which took place in the village of Yousufwala.

  Twenty men, armed with clubs and axes, approached and began beating George and others at the site. His two sons, Babar and William, daughter Nasreen, and daughter-in-law Jamila were also injured. The attackers demanded that the construction stop, claiming the land belongs to them. It is believed the perpetrators were linked to a local landlord.

• Asia Bibi Remains in Good Spirits
  
  Photo: VOM USA

  Since her conviction for blasphemy in 2010, Asia Bibi has been in the prayers of thousands of Christians around the world. Convicted of insulting the prophet Mohammed, she faces a death penalty. All appeals to this point have been futile, despite pressure being applied from within Pakistan, as well as by other governments and organizations internationally. For more information on Asia Bibi's case, we encourage you to review the Pakistan Country Report.

• Church Targeted in Terrorist Attack
  
  A scene at a previous church bombing (in Peshawar, Pakistan) that took place in September 2013. The ministry's Medical Fund provided greatly needed assistance to surviving (injured) victims of the attack.

  On the Sunday morning of December 17th, four Islamic terrorists attacked the Bethel Memorial Methodist Church in Quetta, the capital of Pakistan's Baluchistan Province. Some 400 Christians were participating in the "Sunday School Christmas Program" when gunfire erupted outside. Two gunmen had shot dead the church's gatekeeper, George Masih, paving the way for two suicide bombers to invade. Security guards stationed around the perimeter of the church and on the roof returned fire -- killing one bomber, wounding the other, and forcing the remaining two gunmen to flee.

• Misuse of Blasphemy Law in Review

  

  Members of a Pakistani parliamentary committee believe it's necessary to prevent the misuse of the blasphemy law. On November 23rd, Senator Nasreen Jalil, the chairwoman of the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights, announced that innocent people have suffered and been wrongly accused of blasphemy. Therefore, the committee is looking to reconsider procedural changes to prevent misuse in the future.