Pakistani Christian Girl Kidnapped, Raped for Two Days

A Muslim man had kidnapped and raped an 8th grade Christian teenager in Pakistan for two days, an International Christian Concern (ICC) reported Thursday.

Sat, Sep. 19, 2009 Posted: 04:37 PM EDT

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A Muslim man had kidnapped and raped an 8th grade Christian teenager in Pakistan for two days, an International Christian Concern (ICC) reported Thursday.

According to ICC, Muhammad Akmal, accompanied by Khurshid Bibi, kidnapped Fouzia and took her to his farmhouse on 15 August, where he repeatedly raped her for two days. He released her only after threatening to kill her if she told anyone that she had been kidnapped and raped.

Salam Masih, Fouzia’s brother, told ICC that they reported the incident to the local police, but the police have not yet apprehended Muhammad, who is an influential landlord in the district of Toba Tek Singh.

Rana Ahmed Hassan, a police officer from the district, told ICC that Muhammed had fled from the village, but the police were doing their best to apprehend him.

Christian minorities in Pakistan are easy targets for harassment and attacks due to discriminatory laws that relegate them to the level of second-class citizens. In the past two months alone, 12 Christians were murdered by Muslims. The government of Pakistani has repeatedly failed to protect Christians from attacks and violence.

ICC, a Washington D.C.-based Christian advocacy group has strongly condemned the incident as “outrageous” and is calling upon Pakistani government to bring the culprit to justice.

ICC’s Jonathan Racho said: “It is outrageous that Muhammed would kidnap and rape an 8th grade girl. The scar of the rape will live with Fouzia for the rest of her life. We call upon Pakistani officials to fully investigate the crime against Fouzia and bring Muhammed and his accomplice before justice.”

“Please contact the Embassy of Pakistan in your country and urge them to apprehend Muhammed,” urged the friend of persecuted Christians around the world.

Contact numbers of Pakistani Embassies: USA: (202) 243-6500, Canada: (613) 238-7881, UK: 0870-005-6967.

Pakistan is under fire from Christians around the world for not being able to protect minority Christians, who had been constantly accused of blasphemy, the law that allows anyone desecrating Koran, and giving derogatory remarks towards Prophet Mohammed are punishable with death, or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.

Early this month, World Council of Churches (WCC), the biggest Christian ecumenical body representing over 560 million Christians urged Pakistan to repeal the blasphemy law that has become a source of persecution against the minority Christians.

Pakistan Christian Congress (PCC) said it is giving the government an ultimatum until 25 September, to repeal the blasphemy law that has put Christians as the second class citizen.

Pakistan is ranked No. 13 on the Open Doors World Watch List of the world's worst persecutors of Christians.

Christians comprise less than 5 percent of the estimated 176 million people in Pakistan. Sunni Muslims make up about 75 percent and Shias account for about 20 percent.

Joseph Keenan
CP South and Southeast Asia Correspondent

(Christian Post)

Pakistan: Christian ‘murdered’ in police custody

A Christian man accused of desecrating the Koran has reportedly been murdered in prison in District Sialkot, in Punjab.

Posted: Saturday, September 19, 2009, 10:49 (BST)

Robert Masih, 20, was taken into police custody in a bid to pacify Muslim extremists who went on the rampage in the village of Jathikai Tehsi Samberial on September 11, attacking churches and the homes of Christians.

They reportedly carried out the attack in response to calls that had gone out from local mosques urging Muslims to “teach Christians a lesson” following Masih’s alleged desecration of the Koran.

A mob had gathered in the village earlier in the day before turning on a church used by Catholics and Protestants and burning it to the ground, according to Pakistani TV channel Express. The pastor of the church, Dilshad Nasir, was badly beaten by the mob when he refused to leave his house and the village.

When the Centre for Legal Aid and Assistance (CLAAS), a Christian support organisation, sent a team of lawyers to the town, local Muslims armed with crude weaponry tried to attack them before police intervened. Around 35 Christian families were also moved out of the village over fears for their safety.

Bishop Samuel Pervaiz of the Church of Pakistan told CLAAS that the violence was linked to Masih’s relationship with a local Muslim girl. He had apparently teased the girl by throwing her copy of the Koran onto the ground. The bishop believes the charge of blasphemy was made against him by the girl’s mother because she disapproved of his relationship with her daughter.

The bishop informed the CLAAS team that Masih had been taken to the district jail on September 14. He was found dead in his cell the following day with cuts on his forehead, wrist, legs and neck.

CLAAS rejects the claims of local police officials that Masih committed suicide. Instead it believes that the marks on his neck were caused by strangulation.

According to one news report, the chief minister of Punjab has ordered a high level inquiry into Masih’s death but CLAAS fears any investigation will be merely for show.

At a press conference in Sailkot this week, CLAAS director Joseph Francis condemned Masih’s death and appealed for justice for persecuted Christians in Pakistan, particularly victims of the blasphemy law.

He also called for a credible investigation into Masih’s death and for police to treat the case as suspected murder.

“For religious minorities these laws have proven to be a catastrophe which can surface anytime anywhere,” said Mr Francis, who was joined at the press conference by Asma Jahangir, chair of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

With 18 Christians accused of blasphemy and seven towns and settlements attacked this year so far, 2009 has been the worst year of violence connected to alleged instances of blasphemy.

CLAAS believes the violence against Christians in Korian and Gojra in August has set a dangerous precedent for Muslims elsewhere to misuse the blasphemy law without fear of punishment as a means of settling scores with Christian rivals.

In spite of the deaths of eight Christians in Gojra, the Pakistani government has done little to address the widespread abuse of the blasphemy laws and to end the climate of aggression towards Christians.

At the press conference, Mr Francis added that the Pakistani government should acknowledge that the blasphemy law is being abused and take steps towards its removal from the Pakistani Penal Code.

Nasir Saeed, coordinator of CLAAS UK, said there was an “urgent” need for the Pakistani government to protect its Christian citizens.

He said: “Christians in Pakistan are literally dying for their faith. The government needs to admit that this is happening, that the blasphemy laws are being abused by Muslims who see them as an easy way of suppressing Christians, and it needs to repeal them immediately.”

(Christian Today)

Editorial: For and against Blasphemy Law

In the aftermath of the death-in-custody of the blasphemy-accused Fanish Masih in Sialkot, the Governor of Punjab, Mr Salmaan Taseer, has courageously called for the repeal of the infamous law targeting the minorities in general and the Christian community in particular. He was echoing the demand being made by protesters in Lahore reacting to the cruel thrashing Christian protesters were given by the police in Sialkot.

Fanish Masih was found dead in his cell. The police say he committed suicide, but the question for all of us to consider is that Masih was kept in solitary confinement even after the police knew prima facie that the charge against him was concocted. Also, there was confusion all around springing from a conflation of blasphemy with desecration of the Holy Quran. Masih himself must have been sure that he was in a trap where his death was certain.

The sheer negative jurisprudence of the Blasphemy Law shocks the rational person and instils despair in the accused. Yet, the Pakistani mind is divided over details that are accepted by all as shameful to the pride of the nation, equating Pakistanis with backward Nigeria where blasphemy laws have killed hundreds so far, tragically, in imitation of Pakistan. The irrationality of the public attitude came to the fore when the federal minister for religious affairs, Allama Hamid Kazmi, was asked to react to Governor Taseer’s call for the repeal of the law.

Mr Kazmi was grieved by the Sialkot violence against unprotected Christians but was determined to defend the Blasphemy Law. His case was of a piece with the one made by the conservative Urdu press and the clergy. He assumed that blasphemy occurred in Pakistan and that no Muslim could collude with it by removing the deterrence of law. But the facts were ignored by him. The truth is that there is no blasphemy proved in Pakistan so far, except in the lower courts where mobs carrying weapons force the judge to hand down death.

Any society free of extremism would grasp this fact. Why should a law be enforced in a society where no one can actually blaspheme? And what does it mean that after the promulgation of the law, blasphemy actually raises its ugly head? Hundreds of cases have gone up from the grassroots courts to the higher judiciary where the accused has been let off, except for cases such as the one regarding a woman of unsettled mind who is being recommended for mental asylum after a lifetime in jail.

In May this year, 500 clerics stormed a court in Lahore’s Mustafabad when a judge bailed out Munir Masih and his wife for keeping a Holy Quran in their home. The victims insisted they had kept it for spiritual protection and out of devotion; but the accusation was that they were unclean as a community and therefore the Holy Quran was defiled. Later the charge was changed from desecration to blasphemy, after which the court was assaulted.

In April this year, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal against a Federal Shariat Court ruling that death is the only punishment under Islamic law for blasphemy. This is what the victim knows when he is framed and put in solitary confinement in jail: he is going to die either sentenced by a scared sessions judge or killed by the police during the remand.

The Council for Islamic Ideology recommended in 2006 that blasphemy cases be registered with the High Court and that high officials free of local blackmail be appointed as investigators, but nothing has happened. Both the mainstream parties want the law repealed. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani in his memoir complains that Nawaz Sharif as prime minister wanted to change the Blasphemy Law but Ms Bhutto did not help him in parliament. Later Ms Bhutto returned to power in 1993 and wanted to change the law but this time Nawaz Sharif did not help.

The PPP and the PMLN are busy fighting their other less worthy battles in parliament, but if they had the wellbeing of the country at heart they could have joined hands to repeal the Blasphemy Law and then faced up to the extremist backlash just as the country is finally confronting the terrorism of the Taliban. There is no other way to tell the killers of our Christian community that they have to stop this horrible pastime. *

(Sept. 18, Daily Times)

Editorial: For and against Blasphemy Law

In the aftermath of the death-in-custody of the blasphemy-accused Fanish Masih in Sialkot, the Governor of Punjab, Mr Salmaan Taseer, has courageously called for the repeal of the infamous law targeting the minorities in general and the Christian community in particular. He was echoing the demand being made by protesters in Lahore reacting to the cruel thrashing Christian protesters were given by the police in Sialkot.

Fanish Masih was found dead in his cell. The police say he committed suicide, but the question for all of us to consider is that Masih was kept in solitary confinement even after the police knew prima facie that the charge against him was concocted. Also, there was confusion all around springing from a conflation of blasphemy with desecration of the Holy Quran. Masih himself must have been sure that he was in a trap where his death was certain.

The sheer negative jurisprudence of the Blasphemy Law shocks the rational person and instils despair in the accused. Yet, the Pakistani mind is divided over details that are accepted by all as shameful to the pride of the nation, equating Pakistanis with backward Nigeria where blasphemy laws have killed hundreds so far, tragically, in imitation of Pakistan. The irrationality of the public attitude came to the fore when the federal minister for religious affairs, Allama Hamid Kazmi, was asked to react to Governor Taseer’s call for the repeal of the law.

Mr Kazmi was grieved by the Sialkot violence against unprotected Christians but was determined to defend the Blasphemy Law. His case was of a piece with the one made by the conservative Urdu press and the clergy. He assumed that blasphemy occurred in Pakistan and that no Muslim could collude with it by removing the deterrence of law. But the facts were ignored by him. The truth is that there is no blasphemy proved in Pakistan so far, except in the lower courts where mobs carrying weapons force the judge to hand down death.

Any society free of extremism would grasp this fact. Why should a law be enforced in a society where no one can actually blaspheme? And what does it mean that after the promulgation of the law, blasphemy actually raises its ugly head? Hundreds of cases have gone up from the grassroots courts to the higher judiciary where the accused has been let off, except for cases such as the one regarding a woman of unsettled mind who is being recommended for mental asylum after a lifetime in jail.

In May this year, 500 clerics stormed a court in Lahore’s Mustafabad when a judge bailed out Munir Masih and his wife for keeping a Holy Quran in their home. The victims insisted they had kept it for spiritual protection and out of devotion; but the accusation was that they were unclean as a community and therefore the Holy Quran was defiled. Later the charge was changed from desecration to blasphemy, after which the court was assaulted.

In April this year, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal against a Federal Shariat Court ruling that death is the only punishment under Islamic law for blasphemy. This is what the victim knows when he is framed and put in solitary confinement in jail: he is going to die either sentenced by a scared sessions judge or killed by the police during the remand.

The Council for Islamic Ideology recommended in 2006 that blasphemy cases be registered with the High Court and that high officials free of local blackmail be appointed as investigators, but nothing has happened. Both the mainstream parties want the law repealed. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani in his memoir complains that Nawaz Sharif as prime minister wanted to change the Blasphemy Law but Ms Bhutto did not help him in parliament. Later Ms Bhutto returned to power in 1993 and wanted to change the law but this time Nawaz Sharif did not help.

The PPP and the PMLN are busy fighting their other less worthy battles in parliament, but if they had the wellbeing of the country at heart they could have joined hands to repeal the Blasphemy Law and then faced up to the extremist backlash just as the country is finally confronting the terrorism of the Taliban. There is no other way to tell the killers of our Christian community that they have to stop this horrible pastime. *

(Sept. 18, Daily Times)

Pakistan would not permit misuse of blasphemy law -President Zardari

By Muhammad Naeem Chaudhry

LONDON, Sept 18, (APP) : President Asif Ali Zardari has said that the Pakistan government would ensure that the blasphemy law was not misused against anyone and those doing so are brought to justice. He said this while talking to Rowan Williams the Archbishop of Canterbury who called on him here today.

Later briefing the journalists about the meeting, the spokesperson to the President former Senator Farhatullah Babar said that the Archbishop raised the issue of recent acts of violence against the Christians in Gojra and other towns in the Punjab.

The President said that he and the government had strongly condemned the incidents of violence against members of the Christian community and had ordered the immediate arrest of those involved in the heinous crime and to bring them to justice. The President assured the Archbishop that the culprits will be brought to justice.

The President also informed the Archbishop that immediately upon learning of the incident he had despatched the federal minister for Minorities Affairs to the affected villages to convey his condolences and sympathy to the victims’ families and to assess the damage and coordinate efforts for bringing the culprits to book.

He said the federal minister stayed with the victims’ families for several days and submitted a report to the government in the light of which strong action was initiated.

Dr Williams commended the government of Pakistan for taking swift action by announcing compensation to the victims’ families and ordering a probe into the incidents.

President Zardari further said that the PPP government was committed to promote interfaith harmony and informed the Archbishop that Pakistan had pioneered a resolution in the UN calling for interfaith harmony.

The government had also decided to establish an interfaith centre in the country, he added.

The President also said that the government was conscious of the misuse of blasphemy law in the country by extremist elements and also by vested interests and would not permit misuse of the law.

Farhatullah Babar quoted the President as saying the government viewed the misuse of blasphemy law with serious concern and was conscious of the need to urgently address the issue in consultation with other political parties, the civil society and members of minority communities in the country.

The government will endeavour to seek a broad based political consensus on the issue and that the government will also consult the major political parties, he added.

The President said that no one will be permitted to hound members of minorities in the name of religion.

Farhatullah Babar said that there was a constructive discussion and an agreement on the fundamental importance of mutual respect between religions and the responsibility of the governments to ensure safety of all citizens regardless of their religious beliefs.

The President said that the commitment of PPP can be seen from the fact that sometime back it supported procedural amendments in the law to check its misuse even when a hostile government opposed to the PPP had proposed the amendments.

He further stated that the Party was then criticized by obscurantist elements for supporting a legislative move by the government of the day but it went ahead with it in the light of its egalitarian and progressive outlook and its Manifesto commitment to protect minorities and bring them into the mainstream of national life.

Dr Williams proposed discussion about how best the Christian and Muslim communities in UK and Pakistan could be engaged for promoting religious harmony. He also commended the work of the Christian Muslim forum.

The President invited Archbishop to visit Pakistan with a delegation comprising of the representatives of the Archbishop and the British Muslim community.

The Archbishop also condoled with President Zardari the assassination of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. He said, “I pray that her death will not be in vain and that Pakistan will emerge from the present troubles to take place as an example of a nation in which all are safe and respected”.

The Archbishop also thanked the President for meeting him and prayed for the people of Pakistan especially at this time of Ramadan and the coming Eid.

(APP)

Clashes break out at Masih's funeral

Pakistani Christians clashed with security forces on Wednesday at the funeral of Masih who died in jail in disputed circumstances after accusations he defiled the Quran. Photos by AP

Police load Fanish's dead body

Pakistani police officers load the dead body of Christian youth Fanish Masih which was left behind by fellow Christian protesters as police used tear gas and batons to disperse angry mob in Sialkot, Pakistan, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2009. Pakistani Christians clashed with security forces Wednesday at the funeral of Masih who died in jail in disputed circumstances after accusations he defiled the Quran. -Photo by AP

Communal tensions

Dawn Editorial
Thursday, 17 Sep, 2009

THE religious chauvinism that has become rampant in the country is nowhere in better evidence than in the case of Fanish Masih. On Friday, in village Jaithikey near Sialkot, allegations spread that Masih and four other young men had desecrated a copy of the Quran. Requiring no proof, a slavering mob burnt down a church and ransacked nearby houses. The terror felt by the area’s Christian residents was such that the entire community — some 30 Christian households amongst over a 100 Muslim homes — abandoned their dwellings and fled. Masih was found dead in his cell on Tuesday, with jail officials claiming he had committed suicide. The exact circumstances of Masih’s death are shadowy and merit a thorough inquiry: the method of ‘suicide’ described so far by the jail authorities raises many questions. Moreover, having taken him into custody, it was the duty of the authorities to keep Masih safe. The protection of all citizens is a fundamental responsibility of the state and its subsidiaries.

Outbreaks of communal tension — especially that stoked by allegations of blasphemy — can have a snowball effect. This incident comes on the heels of the tragedy in Gojra, where several Christians were killed and many homes were torched by a similarly enraged mob. The country cannot risk these attacks turning into a pogrom against minorities, particularly given suspicions that certain banned sectarian outfits had a hand in the Gojra violence. By neglecting to protect minority community members and failing to take action against rampaging mobs, the law stands in danger of signalling that such violence is tolerated by the state. As the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan pointed out in a recent statement, ‘allegations of blasphemy and defiling of religious scriptures … do not warrant vigilante attacks. Nor do they absolve the government of its primary duty to protect all citizens.’ In the Jaithikey incident, a case has been registered against unknown people for burning down the church. Effective prosecution would serve as a deterrent to future attacks of this nature. The majority Muslim community must also learn to adhere to the law and demonstrate self-restraint.

Anglican Communion News Service

Posted On : September 17, 2009 2:26 PM | Posted By : Webmaster

ACNS: ACNS4652
Related Categories: ACO - NIFCON

The online petition to change the blasphemy legislation in Pakistan, of which NIFCON (the Anglican Communion Network for Inter Faith Concerns) was one of the sponsors, was presented to the Pakistan High Commissioner in London on Tuesday 8 September. The petition followed a recent statement by the Archbishop of Canterbury, condemning attacks on Christians in Pakistan.

The Rt Revd Michael Jackson, Chair of NIFCON’s Management Group, and Dr Musharraf Hussain, Chair of the Christian Muslim Forum of England jointly presented the petition to High Commissioner Mr Wajid Shamsul Hasan. Minister Mohammed Nafees Zakaria was also present.

The petition states “The attacks on Christians, and on occasions also on Muslims, facilitated as they are by the law on blasphemy, are very damaging to the reputation of Pakistan and indeed to the reputation of Muslims which we wish to see restored.”

It has currently been signed by over 2000 people, both Christian and Muslim, from twenty countries around the world including Pakistan. More than twenty Anglican bishops have added their names in support of the petition.

In handing over the petition Bishop Michael Jackson spoke of the importance of Anglicans around the world showing solidarity with integrity with fellow-Christians in Pakistan. Dr Musharraf Hssain invited the High Commissioner to participate in a meeting of the Christian Muslim Forum.

The petition is still available to sign here: http://pakistansignnow.petitionhost.com/

(Anglican Communion)

Police in Pakistan Shoot Mourners at Funeral of Christian

Authorities allegedly kill young man in custody on contrived charge of desecrating Quran.

LAHORE, Pakistan, September 17 (CDN) — At a funeral for a Christian man allegedly tortured to death while in custody on a spurious charge of blaspheming the Quran, police in Sialkot, Pakistan yesterday fired on mourners trying to move the coffin to another site.

Area Christians suspect police killed 22-year-old Robert Danish, nicknamed “Fanish” or “Falish” by friends, by torturing him to death on Tuesday (Sept. 15) after the mother of his Muslim girlfriend contrived a charge against him of desecrating Islam’s scripture. The allegation led to calls from mosque loudspeakers to punish Christians, prompting an Islamic mob to attack a church building in Jathikai village on Friday (Sept. 11) and beat several of the 30 families forced to flee their homes.

Jathikai was Danish’s native village, and some family members and other Christians wished to transfer his coffin to his hometown. Eyewitnesses at the funeral in Christian Town, Sialkot, said police fired shots directly at the Christians, injuring three, when mourners began to move the coffin toward nearby Jathikai. Mourners fled.

Sialkot is 125 kilometers (78 miles) northwest of Lahore in Punjab Province.

Controversy swirled around the cause of Danish’s death, with Christians refusing to accept police claims that he committed suicide. Results of forensic tests are expected within a week.

The dark moment for Danish’s family grew gloomier yesterday when police seemed to be seeking the first excuse for heavy-handed tactics at the funeral attended by hundreds of people, Christian sources said. When the family and other Christians tried to take the coffin to his hometown of Jathikai, police fired on them, charged them with batons and snatched the body from them, Christian sources said.

Eyewitness Sajawal Masih told Compass that as soon as mourners lifted the coffin, police began firing tear gas.

“We were running when police opened fire and one bullet went through my foot, and two others also were injured,” he said.

There were reports of Christian youths pelting officers with stones, and police reportedly said that they needed to rush the crowd and make arrests to prevent “further disturbances.”

On Tuesday night (Sept. 15), Danish’s survivors and other Christians had decided that the body would be buried in Christian Town because of the dangers of potential attack in Jathikai, according to Christian Town Councilor Tanveer Saqib. Saqib said that the funeral was to be held at 10 a.m. on Wednesday (Sept. 16) at the Christian Technical Institute (CTI) Ground in Christian Town, Sialkot city.

Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) Member of National Assembly (MNA) Akram Gill said that when he and several youths took the body from the CTI Ground and began heading toward Jathikai village, police began firing. Gill told Compass that police opened fire on them as well as the crowd, injuring three Christians.

Gill, a Christian, added that police also shot tear gas, and that officers arrested about 100 Christians. The national assembly member said police arrested him and took Danish’s body to the Christian Town Graveyard in Sialkot. In spite of the tear gas, Gill said, he and others went to the graveyard but encountered armed police who also fired tear gas, turning them back.

For three hours, Gill said, Criminal Investigation Department police detained him, and although he was released, police arrested PML-Q Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) Shehzad Elahi and his whereabouts were still unknown. He said that whenever Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) members come into power in the province, problems for Christians multiply.

Cause of Death
How Danish died remained unclear. Allama Iqbal Hospital Deputy Medical Superintendent Sajid Hussein told Compass that on Danish’s body there was a large welt on the back of the neck and “marks on the legs and back.” He said it was too soon to determine cause of death but that police had pronounced it a suicide.

Tissues taken from the body have been sent to Lahore for chemical and histopathology tests. He said these tests would indicate how the wounds were made, including whether they were inflicted after death.

“The report of these tests would come within a week, and I would inform the media of its findings,” he said. “I cannot comment on whether he committed suicide or not, as the matter is before the court.”

There were unconfirmed reports that state officials were pressuring doctors at Allama Iqbal Hospital to declare Danish’s death a suicide; Hussein denied these statements, telling Compass that they were “mere rumors.”

Hussein said that two Christian doctors, one from Bethania Hospital and the medical superintendent of Jalalpur Jattan Mission Hospital, were allowed to observe the autopsy. Christian Town Councilor Tanveer Saqib said that after the autopsy, the two Christian doctors came out and told media in front of thousands of Christians that Danish had been tortured to death.

Saqib said Danish’s father received the body and, accompanied by thousands of Christians, took it to Baithania Mission Hospital. The procession was so big that it took nearly four hours, though the route was not far.

Over the weekend Danish’s father had been unduly arrested, and upon his release a station house officer told Danish’s uncle, Saleem Masih, that even though Danish’s father was being released, Danish never would be. Saleem Masih told Compass that Danish’s father went back to his jailed son and told him, “My son, we have been trying our best to save you, but it doesn’t seem we will succeed. I think it is the last time I’m seeing you, so I commit you in the Lord’s hands.”

Councilor Saqib said that a Christian constable posted at the Sialkot District Jail told him that he saw Danish in the jail at around 7 a.m. and that he appeared unharmed. At about 10 a.m., however, jail administrators called important figures in the Christian community and told them that Danish had committed suicide, Saqib said.

Danish’s body was taken to a trauma center for a CT scan, he said, then to Riffat Idrees Hospital for an MRI.

“Along with the body were two Christian doctors – Dr. Tariq Malik and Dr. Qammar Sohail – and we were confident that they would tell the facts,” he said, adding that Malik had all medical reports of these tests.

The Punjab provincial government has ordered an investigation into the death, and three prison officials have reportedly been suspended.

Tragic Love
A paternal cousin of Danish identified only as Parveen confirmed reports that the conflict grew out of a romantic relationship between Danish and Hina Asghar, a young Muslim woman. She said Danish and Asghar were neighbors and had been seeing each other for three or four years.

On the night of Sept. 10, Parveen told Compass, Danish and Asghar met on the roof, angering the young Muslim’s mother. Early the next morning, Asghar’s mother spoke of the affair with the wife of local Muslim cleric identified only as Amanullah; the cleric’s wife in turn warned Asghar that both she and Danish could lose their lives if the relationship continued, Parveen said.

When Danish met Asghar on the road the next morning, Parveen said, the young Muslim woman refused to talk to him but tried to hand him a letter explaining the warning she had received. Upset, Danish batted her hand away as she was trying to give him the letter.

“Because he pushed her hand with a jerk, supara 21 [a section of the Quran larger than a sura, or chapter] fell from her hand and dropped onto a nearby sewage stream and got smeared with garbage,” Parveen said.

Saleem Masih, Danish’s uncle, questions that what fell from Asghar’s hand was a part of the Quran. He told Compass that Asghar was trying to give Danish a green-colored diary that only looked like the similarly green-covered section of the Quran. After the rumor began circulating that Danish had blasphemed the Quran, Saleem Masih said, Danish told his mother that it was not the Quran but a green diary that Asghar was trying to give him which fell.

According to Parveen, Asghar returned home and began cleaning the recovered scripture part, and her mother asked how it became sullied, Parveen said. Asghar’s mother subsequently rushed to cleric Amanullah’s wife, who then told her husband about the incident.

Saleem Masih told Compass that he and his wife, along with Danish’s parents, went to Hina Asghar’s father, Asghar Ali, bowed before him and pleaded for him to stop the false rumors of desecration of the Quran. He responded that Muslim cleric Amanullah would decide on it after the Friday prayers, and that the matter was not in their hands anymore.

On that day, Sept. 11, at about 11 a.m., the Muslim cleric announced during the Friday prayer that a Christian had blasphemed by desecrating the Quran, Parveen said.

Islamic mobs brandishing sticks were already arriving in the village, shouting against Danish and demanding that he be hung to death. They also occupied a house that he owned. Surrounding families fled their homes, leaving domestic animals without food and water.

Relatives Thrashed
Nadeem Masih, a paternal cousin of Danish, said that when he arrived at the village by motorbike that day, a large number of emotionally charged Muslims were setting Calvary Church on fire.

He said several Muslims had surrounded Danish’s father, Riasat Masih, and that he managed to get his uncle onto his motorbike to try to escape. They sped through several mob attempts to stop them and were eventually pursued by two Muslims on motorcycles. As Nadeem and Riasat Masih entered the main road, their motorbike slid and fell as they barely avoided an approaching truck. Nadeem Masih escaped but his uncle, Danish’s father, was captured.

Saleem Masih said that the Muslim mob took hold of Danish’s father, tied him up and were about to set him on fire when elderly men intervened, saying punishment for that crime would be too great, and suggested they instead only beat him. After beating Danish’s father, the Muslim mob untied him and took him into the church, where they burned Bibles, hymn books and other items and continued beating him.

Christian sources said police arrived and arrested Riasat Masih – not his attackers – and took him to the police station. Riasat Masih filed a crime report against the jailor and police officials at the Civil Lines Police Station, according to Christian Town Councilor Saqib.

Saleem Masih told Compass that he also was beaten. He said he was with Calvary Church Senior Pastor Dilshad Masih when they arrived in the village to find the mob setting church articles on fire and striking it with whatever they could find on hand. Realizing he could do nothing, Saleem Masih said he ran to his farmhouse, also owned by a Muslim named Bao Munir.

Munir took hold of him, he said.

“He brought out my cot and other belongings and set them on fire, and then he also tried to burn me in this fire,” Saleem Masih said.

Munir told him he could either be burned or go with him back to the village, and he forced all of the Christian’s clothes off of him except a cloth covering his loins and burned them, Saleem Masih said. After some struggle, he said, he managed to escape.

Danish, meantime, was hiding in a house in Jathikai village but was arrested the next morning (Sept. 12) when he went out for drinking water.

Tensions escalated, a source told Compass, when cleric Sabir Ali announced from his mosque in nearby Bhopalwala village that a Christian boy had blasphemed Islam by throwing the Quran in a drain.

Church Fire
After Calvary Church was set on fire, about 30 nearby families fled from the brutal beatings. Eyewitnesses told Compass that the assailants first went to Danish’s house. Not finding anyone there, they attacked the locked church which was only three houses from his.

The eyewitnesses, who were still in hiding and fearing further attacks, said that the assailants burned Bibles and hymnbooks. The assailants brought the church cross out, they said, and beat it with their shoes. The sources said the attackers were mainly from Shabab-e-Milli, a wing of the Muslim extremist Jamaat-e-Islami.

Christian Town Councilor Saqib said that the mob got hold of Calvary Church Senior Pastor Masih and severely beat him while police stood by. Police kept Saqib and his team from going to the blazing Calvary Church building, signaling them from afar not to come near, he said. He added that they had to turn back as the rampaging Muslims turned on them to attack, which police made no effort to stop.

Pastor Masih told Compass that when he and Saleem Masih arrived at the church building, Muslims shouted at them, “Catch these Christians!” He remained standing as others fled, he said, and the mob beat him and took his mobile phone.

“They wanted to kill me, but miraculously I managed to run from there,” he said.

Saqib said MPA Kamran Michael of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PLM-N), the ruling party in Punjab province, reached the village on Friday, but police did not allow him to go to the burning church, citing security threats. About 500 Christians later gathered in Sialkot to protest the church fire, with Michael addressing the crowd.

Michael said that one of the protestors reminded him that after Islamic mobs burned homes in Gojra last month, he had vowed to resign if further attacks took place. The crowd then began demanding that he resign, and police opened fire and charged the crowd with batons. He added that throughout the incident there were several media vans, but none of the major television stations covered the protest.

Several Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Christian media also faced difficulties in getting in the village, though in all previous incidents media and NGOs were allowed access. In this case, however, police told them that they were not allowed due to security reasons. Also unable to gain access to Jathikai was Pakistan People’s Party provincial Assembly Member Amna Buttar and minority rights groups.

George and Butta Masih, along with four family members, were in Jathikai tending to their five cows on Sunday (Sept. 13). George Masih told a Compass reporter who had somehow got into the village that they stayed home all day and went out only at night to bring some fodder for the animals. They said that Muslims would beat any Christians seen during the day.

On Sunday about 500 to 700 Muslim women staged a protest in Sialkot to refute the notion that a Muslim woman could fall in love with a Christian man.

Several Christian and secular organizations in Lahore have scheduled a candle-light vigil today (Sept. 17) as a memorial for Danish and other members of Pakistan’s minority communities who have been killed or attacked in Islamist attacks.

A field officer for advocacy group Community Development Initiative, Napoleon Qayyum, said such attacks were weakening the Christian community.

“After the Gojra incident, several Christians said that their Muslim employers had told them not to come to work anymore,” Qayyum said. “This economic dependence further plays part in seeking justice.”

He added that in the June 30 Islamist attack on Bahmaniwala, in Kasur district, Christians did not want to pursue justice as they worked on Muslims’ land and could not afford confrontation.

“Their fear is that they would be left without jobs,” he said. “Due to economic dependence and poor status, Christians neither pursue their cases, nor do they defend themselves in such instances.”


(Compass Direct)

Pakistan minister vows to revise blasphemy law

WASHINGTON — Pakistan's minister for minority affairs promised Thursday to work to amend blasphemy laws used to target non-Muslims and said he was ready to die fighting.

Shahbaz Bhatti visited Washington at the invitation of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, which awarded him a first-of-a-kind medallion for championing the rights of minorities in the Islamic state.

"The stand of the Pakistani government is to review, revisit and amend blasphemy laws so it will not remain a tool in the hands of extremists," Bhatti told commissioners from the bipartisan US government agency.

"They are using this law to victimize minorities as well as Muslims of Pakistan. This law is creating disharmony and intolerance in our society."

A longtime Christian community leader, Bhatti was named minister for minorities when civilian President Asif Ali Zardari took over last year, marking the first time the position has carried cabinet rank.

Bhatti said he has received threats for his work. Pakistan's religious affairs minister was wounded earlier this month in an assassination attempt in Islamabad that left his driver dead.

"I personally stand for religious freedom, even if I will pay the price of my life," Bhatti said. "I live for this principle and I want to die for this principle."

Pakistan's law against blaspheming Islam carries the death penalty. While no one has ever been sent to the gallows for the crime, activists say the law is used to exploit others out of personal enmity.

Earlier this week, a 25-year-old Christian jailed on blasphemy allegations died in prison. Authorities said he committed suicide but rights activists suspected he was tortured.

The death came weeks after an angry mob killed seven Christians in an arson attack that destroyed about 40 houses in the town of Gojra in central Punjab province.

(AFP)

Pakistan Rights Groups Seek Answers on Christian’s Death

By WAQAR GILLANI and SABRINA TAVERNISE

Published: September 16, 2009

LAHORE, Pakistan — A Christian man detained on blasphemy charges was found dead in his jail cell on Tuesday in eastern Pakistan. Human rights groups here said he appeared to have been killed, perhaps in collusion with the authorities.

The death of the Christian, Robert Fanish, 20, is part of a rising trend of violence against minorities in Pakistan, a panel of Pakistani human rights groups said in a news conference on Wednesday. It follows the burning deaths of six Christians in July, and mob attacks against Christian houses and a church in March and June.

“This is a pattern,” said Asma Jahangir, the chairwoman of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, a prominent watchdog group that is independent of the government.

Local police officials say Mr. Fanish committed suicide, a claim his family and human rights groups dismissed.

Christians are a tiny minority in Pakistan. They are barred from running for president.

Mr. Fanish was arrested on Saturday in the village of Jathikai and charged with blasphemy, a statute often used against minorities in Pakistan, human rights groups say. A Muslim family accused him of desecrating a Koran, but his local supporters said the family claimed that he had been admiring their daughter.

Whatever the case, he was taken to a jail in Sialkot, the district capital, and after two days of police questioning he was found dead in his cell, touching off Christian riots.

On Wednesday, the provincial government ordered an investigation into the death and are investigating whether to charge the jail staff with negligence.

The inspector general of prisons for Punjab Province, Kokab Nadeem Warriach, declined to say whether he believed that Mr. Fanish’s death was allowed or perpetrated by police guards. He said by telephone that three prison officials had been suspended, and that the investigation ordered by the provincial government would conclude this week.

The police said Mr. Fanish had hanged himself in his cell, using a strip of material ripped from his clothing. The Joint Action Committee for People’s Rights, an alliance of more than 30 human rights groups, said in a statement that it had talked to witnesses who saw marks of torture on his body.

The group said evidence in the case “raises strong suspicion of the involvement of the jail officials” in Mr. Fanish’s death.

Ms. Jahangir said local politicians often colluded with attackers, covering up their crimes, partly out of a deep-seated prejudice against minorities — Christians and Ahmadis, a minority sect in Islam — and out of a reflexive sympathy with other Muslims.

“These militants who attack minorities are protected by local politicians,” she said. “They protect them and keep their names out of police reports.”

That was what happened in the burning case in July, where the Muslim mob was whipped into a frenzy, apparently by the local leader of a mainstream political party.

Militants, Ms. Jahangir said, “are trying to enforce their will by attacking minorities.”

“They want to grab power,” she said. “They want to make people slaves.”

Waqar Gillani reported from Lahore, Pakistan, and Sabrina Tavernise from Islamabad, Pakistan.

(New York Times, September 17)

Second Editorial: Death of blasphemy accused

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan chairwoman, Ms Asma Jahangir, has called on the government to take notice of the death in custody of a Christian accused of blasphemy in Sialkot. Fanish Masih, 25, was arrested to satisfy the blood lust of the mob in Sambrial that had attacked and burned a church in a Sambrial village.

The district jail superintendent explained the death: “Masih, being accused of blasphemy, was put in a separate cell where he committed suicide by using a string”. So much for procedure. Knowing full well that the boy was framed, he was treated as an ordinary death-row prisoner. He was also probably also treated shabbily, which may have forced him to lose hope.

People who are treated by the state as pariahs are losing hope. Punjab’s Minister for Minority Affairs, Mr Kamran Michael, says the police in Sialkot mishandled the case: “I have seen the body and there were torture marks on it”. The local Christians are now scared to death about their own future, and claim Masih was “tortured to death by the jail staff”. This has happened before.

Christians killed in the name of Islam never get justice. The only way an accused can be saved is to bundle him out of the country after releasing him on bail. The Muslims of Pakistan are killed like flies by the Taliban warlords and Al Qaeda. Instead of uniting against the curse of Muslim-kills-Muslim they turn around and target the most impoverished community among the minorities of Pakistan.

The latest death has burdened the conscience of Pakistan with one more collective crime. The state, forewarned, has instead relied on its old reflex of looking away and letting an innocent man die. *

(Daily Times, September 17, 2009)

Report: Pakistani Christian Youth Accused of Blasphemy Killed in Jail

Robert Danish, a Pakistani Christian youth jailed for allegedly desecrating Quran was found dead inside prison on Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m in Sialkot, Punjab province.

Tue, Sep. 15, 2009 Posted: 05:25 PM EDT

---

Robert Danish, a Pakistani Christian youth jailed for allegedly desecrating Quran was found dead inside prison on Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m in Sialkot, Punjab province.

“The authorities said he committed suicide, but we believe he was killed by Muslim police officials,” one of the relatives of the Christian youth was quoted as saying by Pakistan Christian Post (PCP).

What has surprised Christians and the family of Robert is that he was killed in a special security zone of Sialkot Central Jail on Saturday, reported PCP.

Robert Danish, also known as Falish Masih was arrested by police on 11 September after Mohammad Asghar Ali, resident of village Jhethey Key lodged a complaint against him. Mohammad Asghar Ali, the village barber accused Robert Danish of pushing his daughter Hina Ali on the way, letting her drop the Quran in side-drain, thus desecrating the holy book of Muslim. It happened when Hina, who is also rumoured to have an affair Robert was coming home after Quran recitation.

PCP said Hina's father, Asghar Ali complained in FIR with police that Robert Danish took the Quran from the hand of his daughter and threw it in a drain and a case under blasphemy was registered.

Earlier, the Muslims of the village also accused Robert Danish of having an affair with Hina and threatening to kill him if he will not leave her, that may have prompted the girl’s father to implicate him, the report said.

Friends of Robert Danish told PCP that because of the situation there was rumour involving Robert in blasphemy case from months, that has finally happened when he was arrested.

Robert was produced before local magistrate on 11 September itself and sent to judicial custody in Sialkot Central Jail where he was killed on Saturday morning, according to the family of the Christian youth.

PCP said Mr. Riasat Masih, father of Robert Danish has refused to perform funeral of his son until killers are arrested, the report said.

Talking to the PCP, the family members said they do not believe in suicide theory of jail authorities. They said, “Robert was not a coward who presents himself in Police Station when police detained his father.

“Muslim jail officers are involved in his killing” one of Robert Danish’s relatives told PCP.

PCP said there is widespread anger among Christians in Pakistan after news of killing of Robert Danish in jail custody. Christians of Sialkot have announced to observe two days strike and mourning on killing of Christian youth, it said.

The incident was conspired by local Muslim clerics who hoisted banners with slogans “Kill the blasphemers” on Wazirabad-Sialkot road in Sambarial after incident of Gojra where Muslim burnt alive Christians on August 1, the report said.

The village Jhethe Key is some of 20 km from Sialkot and in jurisdiction of Sambarial sub-district of Punjab province where 30 Christian families are living with 100 hundred Muslim families over a century with religious harmony until the recent allegation of blasphemy had happened, the report said.

Pakistan is under great pressure from Christians and the international community after 8 Christians were burnt to death in Gojra town in Punjab province on an alleged desecration of Quran, the holy book of Muslims on Aug. 1, dozens of Christian homes were also burnt. It was the repetition of the incident in a Christian village of Korian on 29 July where over 100 Christian homes were also burnt.

Christians have demanded that the blasphemy law be repealed; they said the law has often been used to settle personal scores against them and other religious minorities.

According to Pakistan Penal code “Use of derogatory remarks, etc in respect of the Holy Prophet; whoever by words, either spoken or written or by visible representation, or by any imputation, innuendo, or insinuation, directly or indirectly, defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet Mohammed shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.”

Pakistan Christian Congress (PCC) said it is strongly condemning killing of Robert Danish and has demanded the arrest of the killers; and justice be brought for Robert’s family.

Joseph Keenan
CP South and Southeast Asia Correspondent

Punjab: young Christian man accused of blasphemy killed in prison

by Fareed Khan

Fanish, 20, was arrested last Saturday. His death was “judicial murder” according to human rights activist. The day before a Muslim mob attacked members of the dead man’s Christian community, setting fire to their church. Pakistani extremists are funded by Saudi “charities.”

Sialkot (AsiaNews) – The young Christian man who was arrested on 12 September in a village in Punjab accused of blasphemy was killed last night in prison. Police had Fanish, 20, remanded into their custody in order to continue their investigation. This morning prison guards in Sialkot district prison found the lifeless body of the young man with visible signs of injuries.

For Nadeem Anthony, member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), his death was judicial murder. Condemning in the strongest terms the latest anti-Christian outrage, the activist told AsiaNews that for police the young committed suicide by hanging himself in jail, something that for him does not make sense. Instead, “it is a torture killing” because “we can see signs of torture on his body in the picture.”

AsiaNews also received photos of the lifeless body. In it the type of injuries that can be seen appear unrelated to strangulation by hanging.

The body is at the disposal of the legal authority, which has ordered an autopsy at Sialkot’s Civil Hospital.

Fanish (pictured in prison) was arrested last Saturday after accusations of blasphemy were made against him. A day earlier a Muslim mob had gathered in front of the church in the village of Jaithikey, not far from the town of Samberial, in the district of Sialkot (Punjab), to teach the local Christian community a “lesson”.

Extremists damaged the building before setting it on fire. They also pillaged two homes near the church.

A relationship between the 20-year-old Christian man and a young Muslim woman appears to be the cause of the turn of events.

Fanish was accused of provoking the young woman and of throwing away a copy of the Qur‘an she had in her hands.

Fr Emmanuel Yousaf Mani, director of the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) of the Catholic Church, said that “Muslims cannot stand the idea that a Muslim woman might fall in love with a Christian.”

Yesterday the NCJP expressed “grave concern’ over the rising tide of violence against religious minorities, all in the name of the blasphemy law.

For Catholic activists, urgent government measures are need. It is increasingly clear that profanations of the Qur‘an are just excuses used to attack non-Muslims, who are increasingly victimised and persecuted by Islamic fundamentalists.

In another incident, also last Saturday but reported only today, a Christian settlement in Ghaziabad, a neighbourhood in Orangi Town, near Karachi (Sindh), was attacked by a mob of Muslims, enraged by blasphemy charges against a 40-year-old Christian man called Lawrence.

After repeatedly attacking the man’s house with stones and rocks, the mob attacked local Christians and tried to storm the local Catholic Church. Only a quick intervention by police prevented a blood bath. Still police arrested Lawrence’s nephew, Shahkeel. The accused man went into hiding.

Violence action by Pakistani Islamists is funded by foreign jihadist organisations. In fact, the Arab Herald recently reported that a Saudi charity gave 15 million dollars to a pro al-Qaeda militant organisation.

The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is said to be preparing to strike Punjab’s main cities.

In conjunction with the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), the TTP is also planning to attack Pakistani Shiites.

Sources told AsiaNews that the al-Qaeda-linked SSP was involved in the anti-Christian attacks in Gojra where several people were killed.

The Al-Haramain Foundation, an organisation banned by the UN Security Council for its links to al-Qaeda, reportedly funded the attacks.

Pakistan: Political expediency of the government is putting the lives of religious minorities at stake

Date: 15 Sep 2009

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concerned about the uncontrolled violence against religious minorities in various districts of Punjab province, instigated by fundamentalist Muslim groups and religious leaders who illegally use mosque loud speakers to provoke Muslim folks to attack the settlements of religious minorities. The situation has dramatically worsened after the formation of the provincial government of the PML-N, which has a record of intolerant policies against Christians and Ahmedis in particular. The continuous persecution, thriving on the reluctance of the federal government to provide minorities protection and repeal the notorious blasphemy laws, is putting the lives of many at stake.

One month after the Gojra tragedy, another case of collective violence took place on September 11 in the village of Jethki, Sambrial tehsil of Sialkot district, where a mob armed with bricks, stones and batons gathered outside the Kalwari Church after the Juma prayer (Friday noon prayer) and attacked Christian visitors, causing serious injuries to a senior pastor, Dilshad. The mob ransacked the church and set it ablaze along with two neighboring houses that belong to Christians by pouring petrol and kerosene oil on the buildings.

The mob was answering to their religious leaders' call to "teach Christians a lesson", after the clerics used the loud speakers to accuse five Christian boys of desecrating the Holy Quran and committing blasphemy. The allegation is nevertheless highly suspicious -- according to credible sources, the case originated from a harassment complaint reported by a Muslim girl against a Christian boy, but was exploited by Muslim clerics who inflated it into a case of blasphemy.

This latest incident is the fourth of its kind within the last three months and highlights the alarming frequency with which the blasphemy law is blatantly misused by Muslim leaders to provoke collective violence against religious minorities. The incident is reminiscent of the Gojra carnage of August 1, in which three thousand violent Muslim protestors destroyed 140 houses, two churches and burnt seven Christians alive, including two children aged 6 and 13. As in Gojra, the Christian residents of Jethki are forced to flee for their lives and to find resettlement at other places.

These instigated acts of hostility are not random outbursts but suggest a greater conspiracy: Mosque leaders are exploiting the religious sentiments of Muslim folks to chase Christians away in order to occupy land owned by the latter. Many of these mosque leaders receive bribes from land-grabbers in the National and Provincial Assemblies and are hired by them to expropriate land using more discreet methods. It is therefore no surprise that these cases of violence have taken place in cities and villages where land has grown in commercial value. After the Christian residents departed, mosque leaders usually arranged for people to start building houses and other construction projects to occupy the land.

After the Jethki riot, the police did not launch an investigation although a first information report (FIR) has been lodged against the instigators of violence, nor did it arrest the clerics who violated Section 3 of Loud Speaker Act 1965 which bans all types of speech other than Azan (the call to prayer) and Khutba (the Friday sermon in Arabic). Instead, the District Police Officer (DPO) Sialkot Waqar Ahmad Chohan "negotiated" with Muslim party leaders and promised to arrest the Christians accused of blasphemy within a 24-hour deadline.

The blasphemy law was introduced by General Zia ul Haq (1977-88) and was amended in 2004 to prevent its widespread misuse against minorities, requiring police officers to produce substantial evidence before arrests are made. However, the vague formulation of the law and arbitrary enforcement by the police -- as in this case -- still lends ample room to manipulation. According to data collected by the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP), at least 964 persons were alleged under the blasphemy law from 1986 to August 2009.

The AHRC is aware of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's announcement in August that a committee will be formed to discuss "laws detrimental to religious harmony" and work to improve them. However, the government has only conceded to weak "procedural changes" without fundamentally altering the very laws that are directly responsible for legitimizing religious violence. Many Islamic provisions of the country's Constitution, such as those declaring that sovereignty belongs to Allah and that all laws would be interpreted in the light of Quran and Sunnah, effectively hand religious leaders the formidable power to interpret and apply the law according to their will.

The AHRC has repeatedly called for the repeal of the blasphemy laws by the Pakistani government and for responsible enforcement of the Loud Speaker Act 1965 by the police. Their failure to arrest those who fabricated charges of blasphemy and those who instigated collective violence by using mosque loud speakers is encouraging similar incidents to take place one after another, threatening the safety and security of religious minorities while eroding confidence in the country's law system. The AHRC strongly urges the government to intervene to prevent further abuse of religious authority for the sake of political expediency and to offer immediate protection to minorities who are forced to leave their homes as a result of religious violence.

About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984. About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984

Taseer calls for repealing blasphemy law

LAHORE: Punjab Governor Salman Taseer has said that all ’discriminatory’ laws against minorities, including 295-c and blasphemy law should be repealed.

Addressing Iftar dinner here on Wednesday, he said President Asif Ali Zardari never struck any deal with former president Pervez Musharraf but gave him peaceful route by pressurizing him politically and if in case he did not do such, then Pervez Musharraf could take unconstitutional step, which could be dangerous for democracy.

According to him, those people, who demand Musharraf’s trial, should know that it is not practical.

The governor said all unequal laws, including 295-c against minorities should be repealed, adding, solid steps should be taken to provide security to minorities to avoid Gojra like incidents.

He said the completion of Punjab cabinet has been delayed and it should be completed as soon as possible.

In reply to a question regarding chief minister consultation about judges’ appointment, he said only chief justice High Court, Chief Justice Supreme Court and governor of the respective are bound to hold consultations among them.

He said he had objections on the names of six judges of High Court and, therefore, he had sent eleven names to the President for approval.

(Online)

Taseer calls for repealing blasphemy law

LAHORE: Punjab Governor Salman Taseer has said that all ’discriminatory’ laws against minorities, including 295-c and blasphemy law should be repealed.

Addressing Iftar dinner here on Wednesday, he said President Asif Ali Zardari never struck any deal with former president Pervez Musharraf but gave him peaceful route by pressurizing him politically and if in case he did not do such, then Pervez Musharraf could take unconstitutional step, which could be dangerous for democracy.

According to him, those people, who demand Musharraf’s trial, should know that it is not practical.

The governor said all unequal laws, including 295-c against minorities should be repealed, adding, solid steps should be taken to provide security to minorities to avoid Gojra like incidents.

He said the completion of Punjab cabinet has been delayed and it should be completed as soon as possible.

In reply to a question regarding chief minister consultation about judges’ appointment, he said only chief justice High Court, Chief Justice Supreme Court and governor of the respective are bound to hold consultations among them.

He said he had objections on the names of six judges of High Court and, therefore, he had sent eleven names to the President for approval.

(Online)

Taseer for repeal of blasphemy law

Published: September 17, 2009

LAHORE - Agreeing that blasphemy law was being widely misused, Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer said on Thursday that it should be repealed to protect religious minorities from religious extremists.

Talking to newsmen at an iftar dinner hosted in his honour by PPP’s Lahore chapter, the Governor agreed with a questioner that in the wake of growing incidents of Christian’s persecution by religious extremists, blasphemy law should be abolished.

PPP’s Lahore President, Asghar Gujjar, General Secretary Akbar Khan, Secretary Information Asghar Gujjar and other party leaders including Hafeez Malik, Aurangzeb Burki, Altaf Qureshi, S.M Masood, Sajida Mir and Munawar Anjum attended the function among others. Absence of PPP’s Punjab organization was conspicuous on the occasion.

Salmaan Taseer said that it was responsibility of state to take special care of religious minorities. He said he would not put the blame on Punjab government for Gojra incident, because “whenever I talk about Punjab government it seems as if the earth has started trembling”. He was of the view that incidents like Gojra were taking place due to religious extremism, “whose seeds, he said, were sown long ago and now we were reaping the crop”.

Replying to a question about PML-N’s decision to bring a resolution in the Parliament over President Zardari’s disclosures about Musharraf’s ouster, Taseer said it was democratic right of all parties to table resolutions in National Assembly on any issue. He, however, said that former president had to resign as a result of political pressure applied on him by PPP. He said Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s return to the country in 2007 was also made possible through political pressure. Salmaan said it would be incorrect to say that PPP struck any deal with Musharraf in return for his ouster from the Presidency.

(The Nation)

Taseer for repealing of blasphemy law

Thursday, September 17, 2009

By our correspondent

LAHORE: Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer has suggested repealing of the blasphemy law to protect the minorities.

“The blasphemy law should be repealed to protect the religious minorities, particularly in the wake of increasing incidents of Christians’ persecution by religious extremists,” he said this while replying to reporters’ queries at an Iftar-dinner hosted by PPP Lahore Information Secretary Azhar Mughal on Wednesday.

Answering a question, the governor avoided holding the Punjab government responsible for the Gojra incident, saying he would not talk about the Punjab government for obvious reasons. However, he said protecting the religious minorities was the responsibility of the state and the government. He said Gojra-like incidents were the result of growing religious extremism.

Answering another question about the PML-N’s decision to bring a resolution in parliament over President Zardari’s alleged admission of providing a safe exit to former president Musharraf, the governor said tabling resolutions in parliament was a democratic right of all the parties. He, however, denied the PPP had struck any deal with Musharraf in return for his resignation from the presidency.

“There was no written deal, but the PPP and political forces pressurised Musharraf to step down. Some international powers also played role in this regard since they wanted him to leave peacefully without causing further harm to democracy,” he added.

The governor said it was widely feared that Musharraf could resort to more extra-constitutional steps if forced to resign. He said the PPP leadership cornered Musharraf in such a way that it was difficult for him to escape.

(The News International)

Fanish denied burial in hometown

SIALKOT, Sept 16: Simmering with avenge and anguish, the residents of Jaithikey-Sambrial, aided by the police, did not let an alleged blasphemer be buried with peace in his native town on Wednesday and the heirs took the body to a cemetery on Mudassar Shaheed Road in Sialkot for memorial services and burial. Also, the police have registered a case under Section 319 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) against the jail superintendent and other officials for their negligence in duty.

Robert, alias Fanish Masih, arrested on Saturday by the Sambrial police for allegedly desecrating the Holy Quran was found dead inside his jail cell on Tuesday.

Police officials claimed that the Christians were not allowed to bury Fanish in his native village in a bid to avert any eventuality or communal violence in the troubled village Jaithikey-Sambrial. The memorial service of Fanish was held at the ground of CT Christian High School in Sialkot, attended by hundreds of the Christians, including members of the National Assembly Dr Nelson Azeem and Akram Gill and Punjab Minister for Human Rights Kamran Michael.

Earlier, mourners staged a sit-in on Kashmir Road by placing the body in the middle of the road and chanted anti-government slogans. Protesters also ransacked some nearby shops. The police resorted to baton charge besides using tear gas to disperse the procession, and 11 people, including Sohan Lal, Bashir Masih, Javaid Allah Ditta, Samuel Masih, Emanuel Masih and Pitras Masih, were injured in the skirmishes.

The mourners demanded registration of a murder case against the officials of the Sialkot District Jail for allegedly torturing Fanish to death. The police said nine Christians were arrested for creating the law and order situation.

The police were well prepared to face any untoward situation and a police contingent was called in from the entire Gujranwala division to be deployed in Jaithikey and Sialkot city.

Following strong protests by the Christians, Civil Lines police registered a case under Section 319 of the PPC against the jail superintendent and other officials for their negligence in their duty.

Earlier, on Tuesday night hundreds of Christians blocked traffic on main Kashmir Road, Paris Road, Kutchery Road, Abbott Road and Mudassar Shaheed Road. They ransacked 13 shops along the roads and forced the shopkeepers to close their businesses.

They also hurled stones on public transport vehicles and broke wind screens and windowpanes of several motors.

TENSION: The village is still under the grip of tension. The Christians, who had fled their houses after the alleged desecration of the Holy Quran by some Christians on Sept 11 and ensuing communal violence, could not return to the village.

The police had arrested Fanish for the desecration on Saturday and the court sent him to jail on a 14-day judicial remand on Monday. On Tuesday, Jail Superintendent Ishtiaq Lodhi claimed that Fanish, being kept in solitary confinement, had committed ‘suicide’ in his cell.

But his relatives and members of the Christian community refused to accept the jail authorities’ claims and alleged that he was tortured to death.

Punjab Minister for Human Rights Kamran Michael, Father Emanuel Yousaf Mani, special director of Aman Organisation, MPA Khalil Tahir Sindhu and Riasat Masih, father of Fanish, addressed a press conference at Sialkot DCO office and condemned the violence in Sialkot.

Mr Mani urged the government to review the blasphemy law. He said 947 people, all non-Muslims, had been killed since the promulgation of the Blasphemy Law.

(Dawn)

Christian family beaten up by police: HRCP

Wednesday, September 16, 2009
By Shahid Husain

Karachi

Members of a Christian family living in Gali No. 10, Christian Colony, Ghaziabad, Orangi No. 11 1/2 were severely beaten allegedly on the orders of station house officer (SHO) Pakistan Baazar police station after they were accused of committing blasphemy.

According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Lawrence, 60, a diabetic patient was accused of urinating on the roof of his neighbour’s house between September 9-10 night at about 1.30am. He was accused of blasphemy since some religious material was said to be lying on the roof top.

“There was a hue and cry and local clerics gathered and attacked Lawrence’s house and destroyed household goods,” HRCP official Abdul Hayee told The News on Tuesday. “An HRCP team is investigating this case,” he said.

“The miscreants also contacted the local police that raided Lawrence’s house but could not find him. Police arrested his elder brother George Jan and son Shakeel and beat them severely,” Hayee said.

George and Shakeel were detained at the police station for two days despite the fact that First Information Report (FIR) was not registered against them and they were severely beaten, Hayee informed The News.

SHO Pakistan Bazaar police station, when contacted by The News regarding the incident, started abusing instead of answering the question.

Yousuf Ashiq, In Charge Minorities Wing of Muthahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) told The News that there were no witnesses who could verify if Lawrence urinated at his neighbour’s roof. “On the instigation of Noomi, a local, some 250-300 people gathered and attacked the houses of Lawrence and another Christian Lazar. Immediately after the incident, MQM MPA Syed Manzar Imam and Town Nazim Abdul Haq arrived at the scene and tried to diffuse the tension,” Ashiq said.

“The person who accused Lawrence of urinating on his roof lives in a rented house and arrived in the area some four months ago,” Ashiq said.

“Although there is no eye witness of the incident the Christian family has decided to pay compensation in accordance with Islamic laws and an announcement has been made in this regard at the local mosque,” Ashiq said.

Christian family beaten up by police: HRCP

Wednesday, September 16, 2009
By Shahid Husain

Karachi

Members of a Christian family living in Gali No. 10, Christian Colony, Ghaziabad, Orangi No. 11 1/2 were severely beaten allegedly on the orders of station house officer (SHO) Pakistan Baazar police station after they were accused of committing blasphemy.

According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Lawrence, 60, a diabetic patient was accused of urinating on the roof of his neighbour’s house between September 9-10 night at about 1.30am. He was accused of blasphemy since some religious material was said to be lying on the roof top.

“There was a hue and cry and local clerics gathered and attacked Lawrence’s house and destroyed household goods,” HRCP official Abdul Hayee told The News on Tuesday. “An HRCP team is investigating this case,” he said.

“The miscreants also contacted the local police that raided Lawrence’s house but could not find him. Police arrested his elder brother George Jan and son Shakeel and beat them severely,” Hayee said.

George and Shakeel were detained at the police station for two days despite the fact that First Information Report (FIR) was not registered against them and they were severely beaten, Hayee informed The News.

SHO Pakistan Bazaar police station, when contacted by The News regarding the incident, started abusing instead of answering the question.

Yousuf Ashiq, In Charge Minorities Wing of Muthahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) told The News that there were no witnesses who could verify if Lawrence urinated at his neighbour’s roof. “On the instigation of Noomi, a local, some 250-300 people gathered and attacked the houses of Lawrence and another Christian Lazar. Immediately after the incident, MQM MPA Syed Manzar Imam and Town Nazim Abdul Haq arrived at the scene and tried to diffuse the tension,” Ashiq said.

“The person who accused Lawrence of urinating on his roof lives in a rented house and arrived in the area some four months ago,” Ashiq said.

“Although there is no eye witness of the incident the Christian family has decided to pay compensation in accordance with Islamic laws and an announcement has been made in this regard at the local mosque,” Ashiq said.

Christian held for blasphemy ‘commits suicide’

LAHORE: Fanish Masih, a Christian youth who was imprisoned in Sialkot for allegedly desecrating the holy Quran last Saturday, committed suicide on Tuesday, police said. However, rights activists and the victim’s family believe he was tortured to death.

(Daily Times)

Concerns rise as new Pakistan church attacked

ISLAMABAD — A rights group raised concern Monday that vigilante attacks were increasing against religious minorities in Pakistan when another church was damaged, weeks after an angry mob killed seven Christians.

About 100 people, mostly youths, attacked a Catholic church in the Sambrial district near the Indian border on Friday after accusing a young Christian man of desecrating the Koran, police said.

"They set fire to prayer mats and some religious books but the timely arrival of police prevented the situation from taking an ugly turn," local police official Rafaqat Ali told AFP by telephone.

"The church suffered no major damage," he said. Police arrested a man accused of "snatching and desecrating" a copy of the Koran from a girl while she was going to school, he added.

Pakistan's Minority Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti visited the area Monday and vowed that the government would "reconstruct" the church.

"No one from minorities can even think of desecration of the holy Koran," he said in a statement released in English.

"Some people want to destabilise the country by doing such things, but the government will not allow anyone to play with the lives and properties of the minorities," he added.

Pakistan's controversial blasphemy law carries the death penalty although no one has ever been sent to the gallows for the crime.

Human rights activists say the legislation is often exploited for personal enmity and encourages Islamist extremism and have demanded it be repealed.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan expressed concern Monday over the "increasing frequency of violent attacks on religious minorities" and demanded the government prosecute those responsible and act to prevent such violence.

"The Commission has been warning the government of the growing intolerance of religious minorities' rights and pointing towards the increasing frequency of vigilante actions against them.

"It is unfortunate that our fears of recurrence of such violence again proved to be true in Sambarial," said Pakistan's leading rights group.

The organisation slammed the government's offers of financial compensation and encouraging local reconciliation as "insufficient".

"The Commission would emphasise that another attack targeting the minorities is a question of when, not if, unless the government acknowledges in a meaningful manner the threat extremism and intolerance pose," it said.

"Effective prosecution would serve as a deterrent to future attacks, while a lack thereof would encourage impunity," it added.

Last month, an angry mob of Muslims torched 40 houses and a church in the remote village of Gojra in Pakistan's central Punjab province.

Sherry condemns Sialkot church attack

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: Former information minister Sherry Rehman on Sunday condemned the torching of a church in Sambrial, Sialkot, over the alleged desecration of the holy Quran.

“The incident is a cause of concern as we have another case where a mob has taken law into its hands on the basis of an unconfirmed incident, which, even if it had taken place, could have been addressed without resorting to violence,” she said.

Sherry said fortunately the state had moved in its law and order apparatus on time, averting the repeat of Gojra-style violence, in which eight people had lost their lives. She said attacks on religious symbols and places of worship were a condemnable act.

“We have a number of cases involving allegations of blasphemy on minority communities, where violence erupted on the basis of false rumours and unconfirmed reports of desecration of the holy Quran,” she said.

(Daily Times)

Unidentified men open fire on protesters

KARACHI: Tension prevailed in the Pakistan Bazaar area on Sunday following a clash that erupted at a protest demonstration held here against setting ablaze a church in Sialkot. Police officials said that the residents of Christian Colony were staging protest over the incident when unidentified men on motorcycles opened fire on the protesters and managed to escape. Police said that nobody died in the attack but the area remained tense following the incident and a heavy contingent of law enforcers were deputed to avoid any untoward incident. staff report

(Daily Times)

A far cry from justice

Pakistani police are investigating Christians over the Gojra violence, rather than the very Muslims suspected of carrying out the horrific attacks.

by Nasir Saeed, CLAAS UK

As we continue to monitor closely the situation in Gojra and Korian, reports are coming in daily of the atrocities committed there in recent weeks and the ensuing battle to bring the perpetrators to justice. At least eight Christians were killed when Muslim extremists went on the rampage in retaliation for the supposed desecration of a Koran, the latest deadly attack on Pakistan’s minority Christian community that has left fellow believers the world over deeply concerned.

The government has taken some steps towards reconstruction and rehabilitation in areas where homes and property were destroyed, but local Christians remain fearful – recovering from the emotional trauma will take far longer than rebuilding homes.

Not only that, but local police officers have only compounded the feeling of insecurity by arresting Christians mentioned in the First Information Report registered with the police, rather than the very Muslims suspected of carrying out the horrific attacks.
Sadly, such insouciance on the part of the police in Gojra and Korian is typical of authorities right across Pakistan wherever Christians are victimised by Muslim radicals.

When thousands of Muslims attacked the Sukhar church and other Christian buildings in the Sangla Hill attack in 2005, no one was arrested. Neither was anyone arrested over the notorious attack by 30,000 Muslims on the Christian village of Shantinagar 12 years ago, nor many other attacks on Christians over the years. We had hoped that this time things would not be the same.

Now in the case of Gojra and Korian, instead of being regarded as the victims of this injustice, the Christians are again being treated as the criminals. Instead of receiving justice, they face an uphill struggle against local authorities intent on turning a blind eye.

The government must intervene before more Christians are arrested as Muslims seek revenge for the FIRs. If the government fails to act, it will be to the serious detriment not only of the ongoing struggle for social and religious harmony, but also of Pakistan’s reputation on the international stage.

CLAAS continues to press for the release of the arrested Christians and the rightful arrest of Muslim suspects like Mohammad Qadir Awan who are still roaming free. CLAAS-PK is already in contact with affected families and the police and at a recent press conference in Lahore, its director Joseph Francis threatened to camp in front of the Lahore High Court unless police halted the arrest of Christians.

CLAAS-UK has, meanwhile, brought this injustice to the attention of the Pakistani High Commissioner and the UK Government - which has yet to make any statement condemning the attacks. We hope for a positive response.

The wounds are fresh and we continue to mourn our brothers and sisters who died in the attacks. Please write to your local MP expressing your concerns and pray that justice will be done.

Nasir Saeed is the head of the UK division of CLAAS, an organisation that supports persecuted Christians in Pakistan.

(Christian Today)

Muslim mob burns Church after blasphemy allegations

JAYTIKE, Pakistan (UCAN) -- Hundreds of Muslims set ablaze a Protestant church Sept. 11 in this town of Punjab province after a Christian youth was accused of tearing the Qur’an.

The attack took place after torn pages of the Muslim holy book were found in front of a Christian house. Mobs have blocked access to the town and raised slogans calling for the severe punishment of the “blasphemer.”

Tension built in the area and police have been trying to control the situation. Security forces have asked Christians to remain in their homes. Jaytike town has about 60 Christian homes.
Father Shehzada Khurram of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church is heading a team to the town.
According to initial information from Church sources, a love affair between a Christian youth and a local Muslim girl led to the assault. “The concerned Muslim family discovered the secret affair today and accused the Christian of tearing the Qur’an. We fear attacks on local Christians,” Francis Azad, a catechist in Jaytike told UCA News.

The latest anti Christian violence is the seventh such incident this year.

Just over a month ago, 10 Catholics were killed in rioting in the Punjab city of Gojra and in the nearby village of Korian. A Muslim mob vandalized and looted 113 Christian houses and damaged four Protestant churches in these areas on July 30 and Aug. 1.

Tensions arose after pages containing Islamic inscriptions were found in front of a Christian home in Korian. Muslims accused the family of blasphemy against Islam.

In another incident, suspected Muslim militants shot six Christians and injured seven more in Quetta city, Baluchistan on Aug. 28 after threats of “Convert to Islam or Die,” media reported.

(Union of Catholic Asian News)