Sunday, July 05, 2009
By By Our Correspondent
FEDERAL Minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti has successfully mediated between the Muslim and the Christian communities of Bahmniwala village in Kasur, easing down tension in the area. The minister visited the affected area on Saturday where he announced compensation of Rs 100,000 for the each affected Christian family while Kasur Tehsil Nazim Agha Naved Hashim declared to pay Rs 20,000 to the affected community. DCO Abdul Jabar Shaheen, the DPO Kasur, Ch Ahmed Ali, Pervez Rafique, Mrs Najma Saleem, Tahir Naved Chaudhry, Father Emanuel, Yousuf Mani along with members of the district council, including Noor Elahi, Shaukat Bhatti, Zulfiqar M Gill and Azra Shujaat were also present. The minister visited the burnt houses, which were set ablaze by some unknown people who also made away with valuables from the houses. Addressing the both communities, the federal minister said Islam and Christianity professed peace. He said Quaid-e-Azam had also praised efforts of the Christians in the struggle of Independence and both Christians and Muslims should live cordially in the country. He said the affected area had to be purged of the elements which were spreading hatred, adding that both the communities had to show invincible solidarity so that such elements could be discouraged in the future. He said that he had been sent by the prime minister to restore peace in the area. Kasur DCO Abdul Jabar Shaheen and other people also urged the locals to bury the hatchet for one and all.
(The News International)
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Attacked Christians of Kasur to protest today
By Ali Usman
LAHORE: Christian families from Bahmniwala village in Kasur, attacked by a mob for alleged blasphemy at the instigation of a local cleric and some influential people, will protest outside the Lahore Press Club on Monday (today) against the police for not arresting any of the accused.
Daily Times has learnt that the provincial minister for human rights and minority affairs, the provincial minister for religious affairs, the Lahore commissioner, the district coordination officer (DCO) and the Kasur district police officer (DPO) have visited the area so far. Federal Minister for Minority Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti visited the village on Saturday and announced financial assistance for the families whose houses were attacked and torched.
However, the Christian families who were targeted told Daily Times that they wanted justice instead of financial assistance, adding that peace between the Christian and Muslim communities should not be made at the cost of letting the culprits go scot-free.
Bahmniwala is home to some 125 Christian families, who have lived there for over one-and-a-half centuries. A fight between a Muslim and a Christian boy last week flared into a communal confrontation.
Even though the situation is now under control, and peace has been restored, the Christians demand justice and punishment for those who attacked them and burnt their homes.
Local Christian residents told Daily Times that police contingents were still deployed in the village. They said the cleric who is allegedly responsible for the incident, is still at large, and those who led the mob are still living in the village.
Federal Minister for Minority Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti told Daily Times he had immediately ordered that an FIR be registered after he visited the area. He said he had expressed solidarity with the victims and asked a team to assess the losses that they had suffered. “We will protect the rights of the minorities for sure. The culprits behind this entire episode will not be spared and punished. Justice will be provided,” he said. He said staging a protest was everyone’s right.
(Daily Times)
LAHORE: Christian families from Bahmniwala village in Kasur, attacked by a mob for alleged blasphemy at the instigation of a local cleric and some influential people, will protest outside the Lahore Press Club on Monday (today) against the police for not arresting any of the accused.
Daily Times has learnt that the provincial minister for human rights and minority affairs, the provincial minister for religious affairs, the Lahore commissioner, the district coordination officer (DCO) and the Kasur district police officer (DPO) have visited the area so far. Federal Minister for Minority Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti visited the village on Saturday and announced financial assistance for the families whose houses were attacked and torched.
However, the Christian families who were targeted told Daily Times that they wanted justice instead of financial assistance, adding that peace between the Christian and Muslim communities should not be made at the cost of letting the culprits go scot-free.
Bahmniwala is home to some 125 Christian families, who have lived there for over one-and-a-half centuries. A fight between a Muslim and a Christian boy last week flared into a communal confrontation.
Even though the situation is now under control, and peace has been restored, the Christians demand justice and punishment for those who attacked them and burnt their homes.
Local Christian residents told Daily Times that police contingents were still deployed in the village. They said the cleric who is allegedly responsible for the incident, is still at large, and those who led the mob are still living in the village.
Federal Minister for Minority Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti told Daily Times he had immediately ordered that an FIR be registered after he visited the area. He said he had expressed solidarity with the victims and asked a team to assess the losses that they had suffered. “We will protect the rights of the minorities for sure. The culprits behind this entire episode will not be spared and punished. Justice will be provided,” he said. He said staging a protest was everyone’s right.
(Daily Times)
Saturday, July 4, 2009
PAKISTAN: MUSLIMS ATTACK 110 HOMES OF CHRISTIANS
Beating of field worker leads to hatchet attack on his family, then on all village Christians.
LAHORE, Pakistan, July 3 (Compass Direct News) – After a Muslim beat a Christian field worker for asking him to let him pass on Tuesday (June 30), a cleric in a village near here used a mosque loudspeaker to announce a call to attack Christians that resulted in more than 500 Muslims ransacking and looting at least 110 houses.
With the mosque falsely broadcasting the accusation that the Christian had blasphemed Islam, the Muslim recruits rampaged through Kasur district’s Bahmaniwala village, breaking down gates, wrecking and plundering homes and in some cases beating Christian women. They set various items ablaze including vehicles, though Compass found fire damage to homes was minimal.
“We don’t even have potable water, as they have damaged the turbine,” villager Zareena Bibi told Compass. “We knew about the incident, but could never imagine that they would wreak such devastation. They have not spared a single house here.”
Outraged that the lower-class Christian field worker on his tractor had asked the Muslim to move out of his way, 15 to 20 Muslims had previously mounted a hatchet attack on the family of the field worker, 37-year-old Sardar Masih, wounding his brother’s head, family members told Compass.
Masih told Compass that after his family members had sought treatment at a local hospital – where medical staff members denied them local anesthesia for their stitches because they were Christians – they learned that a call to gather had been issued from a local mosque regarding the altercation.
“We were told that in that meeting they decided to blame Christians for blasphemy of their Islamic religion,” Masih told Compass. The Muslims in the meeting, he added, then schemed with Muslim cleric Muhammad Latif of Maanwala, who appealed from the mosque loudspeaker for villagers to gather to “teach Christians an exemplary lesson.”
Latif, who heads a vigilante group called Sunni Force, also managed to recruit Muslims from other hamlets, Masih said. Soon the number of Muslims swelled to 500 to 800, according to the eyewitnesses.
The ensuing attack began with the breaking of electricity meters at 110 homes, cutting their power, area Christians said.
Damages and Threats
Masih told Compass the triggering incident began when he and his 10-year-old son, Waqas Masih, were returning from the fields on a tractor at 7 p.m.
“When we entered the village, Muhammad Hussein and his nephew had parked their motorbike in the middle of the road,” Masih said. “I requested them to get it aside, and Hussein said that he did not know how a ‘sweeper’ [chuhra, a derogatory term designating lower-class Christians] could order him. I was with my son, and I only requested them to let us go as we are getting late.”
He said Hussein was drunk from a nearby wedding celebration.
“I only made the request, and then they got up on the tractor and dragged me down and began beating me,” Masih said. “Then my son ran home and told my family members.”
Masih’s brother, 32-year-old Ashraf Masih, told Compass that he was at home when Waqat arrived out of breath saying that two men were beating his father. Ashraf Masih and brothers Mushtaq Masih, 35, Tariq Masih, 25, and Shahbaz Masih, along with their cousins Shafiq and Vikram Masih and 65-year-old father Chanan Masih, rushed to the site. By the time they arrived, Ashraf Masih said, a large crowd had gathered, but they were only exchanging harsh words and the conflict was cooling down.
“I told Muhammad Hussein that whoever he is, he has no right to lord it over them,” Ashraf Masih told Compass, adding that as they were leaving Hussein asked how could chuhras talk to them that way.
After the brief encounter, Ashraf Masih said, they went home back, not knowing that Hussein and his cohorts were planning to attack them. After half an hour, he said, Hussein and 15 to 20 other men armed with sticks and hatchets launched their assault on their house.
“They broke the door and smaller walls, and they beat my father, my mother and paternal uncle,” he said.
An assailant delivered a blow with hatchet to the head of his brother Mushtaq Masih, Ashraf Masih said, and blood gushed out. Other brothers also received hatchet wounds.
“When we realized that our life was in danger, we recklessly fought and made them flee,” he said. “Three of their men were also injured, but I don’t know their names.”
Afterward village official Muhammad Shafiq went to the family and warned them not to go to police, he said.
“We followed his advice, but he cheated on us,” Ashraf Masih said. “He took the Muslim party to the police station, where they got an FIR [First Information Report] registered, and then Shafiq and Manawala Deputy Mayor [Zulfiqar Ali] Bhutto took them to a hospital to get a medico-legal report.”
The family learned 90 minutes after the altercation that the Muslim assailants had gone to the police station, he said.
“Then we also rushed to the Sadar police station, but the police told us that an FIR had already been registered of the incident so they could not write another report,” Ashraf Masih said. “Then we went to
The injured Masih family members were shocked, he said, to learn that Shafiq had brought the assailants to the hospital but had told them not to go to the police station or the hospital for treatment.
After waiting for hours for medical treatment with no one paying them any attention, he said, at 5 a.m. their wounds were stitched without local anesthesia.
“The medical staff treated us like animals, and even made us sit outside all night,” Ashraf Masih said.
After the received basic first-aid treatment, Ashraf Masih said, his brother Sardar Masih suggested that they not go home for a few days, as the police had filed the Muslim assailants’ FIR. “Only our women were at home when our house was attacked the next day,” he said.
In spite of the assault on the family the day of the triggering incident, local Christians said no one foresaw the attack on the community on Wednesday (July 1).
“We thought that it was just an ordinary clash and would settle down with the passage of time, but they not only came back and attacked us, they then did havoc to all Christian families,” said Chanan Masih, the brothers’ father, adding that there was no justification for the attack on all the Christian villagers. “We used to visit their houses and even respected their Muslim call to prayer.”
On that day most of the men were away harvesting crops and others had gone to the Lahore Vegetable Market to sell them, while still others were busy getting Christians bailed out in the case filed against them. Area Christians said that most of their homes were therefore defenseless.
The Muslim mobs entered homes where mostly women and children were present and in some instances beat the women, local Christians said. In other instances, they said, women ran up to their roofs or to nearby fields and hid themselves to save their honor and lives.
“In one sad instance, a young girl who was taking bath got so nervous that she ran to the fields stark naked,” said one local Christian. “Such was the perilous state after 15 to 20 men entered each Christian house after breaking down gates.”
Throughout the violence that began about 7:30 p.m. and lasted two hours, area Christians said, the assailants threatened to throw all Christians out of the village.
Local resident Zareena Bibi told Compass that the looters stole from her son, Vikram Bashir, money from recent crop sales – 200,000 rupees (US$2,470) – along with 70,000 rupees (US$865) in cash gathered at his marriage the previous week. The attackers also stole a gold ornament from his bride worth 30,000 rupees (US$370).
Naseem Masih told Compass that her family had gold and more than 200,000 rupees looted. Amid broken glass, she pointed toward damages to two doors, a window grill, a fan, crockery and kitchen utensils that could no longer be used. Her mother-in-law said that they made her remove her gold earrings.
“My son got married only three months ago,” said one area Christian. “They took out new clothes from trunks and threw them on the floor so that they may not remain useful. They also gathered such articles and put them on fire. They were shouting that they would throw out these ‘sweepers’ from here.”
Sardar Masih said that his family’s house was especially hard-hit during the violence and looting. The attackers not only damaged his tractor, he said, but they put sandy soil in its engine that rendered it nonfunctional. The tractor was the main source of income for the family, he added, and without it they were left virtually unemployed.
“They have tried to make us completely poor and without any home,” he said.
Expel and Ostracize
Similarly, Naseem Masih told Compass that the assailants had burned their 10 donkey carts. And a few area Christians also reported that some families had been deprived of the dowries they had accumulated over the years for their daughters yet to be given in marriage.
Local resident Allah Ditta told Compass that he had gone to Lahore Market to sell crops.
“We were informed over the phone that Muslims had attacked us,” he said, adding that the assailants beat his wife and children and also looted 100,000 rupees (US$1,235) from his home.
Local Christians said that on Wednesday (July 1), at about 2 p.m. several young Muslims gathered and began chanting slogans calling for the expulsion of Christians, saying, “We will not let them live here.” By 2:30 p.m., the area mosque was announcing that no shop should provide anything to Christians and that they should totally ostracize them.
“This announcement was made by Maulvi Latif,” one Christian said. Maulvi is an honorific referring to an expert in Islamic law.
Another Christian said that Latif had twice before created problems for Christians, though on a smaller scale. Area Christians and Muslims have lived next to each other peaceably for more than a century and had good relations, village Christians said.
“There has never been any such incident before,” said one Christian.
When Compass entered the village and asked about the conflicts this week, Muslims claimed complete ignorance of them.
Talks and Restoration
The Community Development Initiative (CDI) advocacy group is facilitating talks between the two sides, though mistrust still runs high in the area, said CDI Research Officer Napoleon Qayyum. He said the CDI requested that Water and Power and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) Managing Director Tahir Basharat Cheema ensure that electricity be restored to the houses of Christians.
After the request, electricity was provisionally restored to several Christian families until new electricity meters are installed, he said, adding that WAPDA has begun installing new electricity meters at no cost as well. Qayyum said that Mushtaq Masih had requested that the CDI take up the case of the brothers, and that the organization would provide legal assistance to others who were injured with the help of the
CDI is also providing meals to all 110 families, he said.
“Our partner, ACLJ, is constantly monitoring the situation and is providing its full support in this difficult time,” Qayyum said. Several Christian organizations were visiting the area and providing help to the injured, he said, adding that the only area church building was unaffected by the assault.
Muslim Leaders Appalled
Among Muslim leaders, Pakistan Peoples Party Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) Chaudhry Ahmed Ali Tohlu told Compass that the culprits must be brought to justice. Tohlu asserted that Muslims would be able to repeat such violence only over his dead body and those of other like-minded Muslim leaders.
“I am born in a Muslim family, but today I am feeling bad because of what my fellow Muslims have done,” he said.
Member of National Assembly Sheikh Wasim of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz said, “Christians are our brothers and sisters, and what has been done to them is very unjust, and being a Muslim I apologize to the Christian community in my capacity.”
Divisional Police Officer Kasur Sultan said the violence “is a shameful incident,” and Union Council Nazim Sardar Fakhir said, “We all are ashamed, and those who instigated the matter should be brought to book.”
Human Rights and Minority Affairs Provincial Minister Kamran Michael said that Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had told him over the phone to go to the village and express solidarity with the Christian community. He pledged that all damages would be covered by the government.
“Our religion teaches peace, so we should forgive the culprits, but the government will take action against the culprits,” Michael said.
MPA Joel Amir Sahotra condemned the looting that characterized the attack.
In the aftermath of the violence, police, civil administration, politicians and Christians of the area met, CDI’s Qayyum said, and established a 12-member committee to keep watch and inform authorities of any wrongdoing.
“Till the time things are normalized, anyone found fueling the matter would be punished, and the committee is responsible for informing the police,” he said. “After the meeting, Deputy Mayor Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and I went together in the mosque and Bhutto made a public announcement on the loudspeaker.”
The deputy mayor announced from the mosque that what took place was shameful and that all the shops must resume selling everything to the Christian community, he said.
Area Christians, however, said they remained fearful of new outbreaks of violence.
(With Thanks to Compass Direct)
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Christian-convert accused of defaming bishop
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
By our correspondent
Karachi
At a public forum called by the members of the Protestant Church of Pakistan, a Christian-convert Ghazala Shafiq, was accused of defaming Bishop Sadiq Daniel, the bishop of Karachi diocese, on a private television channel last week. The Protestant community also criticised the channel for ‘misusing freedom’ and broadcasting a report on a case that is still pending in court.
Shafiq, who is a former administrator of Brenton Carey Girls Hostel, Saddar, and has given interviews in the press earlier, went on air for the first time highlighting her four-year old case still pending in the Sindh High Court. In April 2005, Shafiq had filed a case against the bishop and some other senior members of the community after she was allegedly disrobed by them when she refused to sign some papers. This, she stated, was allegedly done in connivance with the area police.
“Ghazala Shafiq has proved that she has no respect for the clergy and other leaders of the Christian community. She had no right to make a statement on a matter that is subjudiced,” a furious community member said in his speech. The forum was attended by the Protestant community from different parts of the city including Korangi, Ranchore Lines, Baldia Town, Drigh Road and Saddar among others.
Talking to The News separately, Bishop Daniel said that he was disappointed at the manner in which the private television channel accommodated Shafiq’s opinion, while ignoring the fact that the verdict of the case was still pending. “We fully support the freedom of the Press, but we should also realise that it comes with responsibility. Accusing the senior-most member of the Christian community will not be tolerated by any member,” said Young Women’s Christian Association President Nuzhat Williams.
The main accused in the case Diocese of Karachi (Church of Pakistan) Secretary Zafar Iqbal, said that Shafiq, who had joined the hostel as an administrator in 2001, was a Christian convert. He added that members of the community suspected that she had “ulterior motives” for converting from Islam to Christianity. “We have evidence of her frequent visits to Afghanistan from where she brought money to Pakistan to distribute among poorer members of the Christian community,” alleged Iqbal. “We suspected she may have been doing so to economically empower the Christians and then gradually turn them against the clergy, and so we decided to sack her.”
Members added that a massive protest will be held in the city on Sunday to condemn the incident. They have invited young members of the community to join hands to defend their faith.
(The News International)
By our correspondent
Karachi
At a public forum called by the members of the Protestant Church of Pakistan, a Christian-convert Ghazala Shafiq, was accused of defaming Bishop Sadiq Daniel, the bishop of Karachi diocese, on a private television channel last week. The Protestant community also criticised the channel for ‘misusing freedom’ and broadcasting a report on a case that is still pending in court.
Shafiq, who is a former administrator of Brenton Carey Girls Hostel, Saddar, and has given interviews in the press earlier, went on air for the first time highlighting her four-year old case still pending in the Sindh High Court. In April 2005, Shafiq had filed a case against the bishop and some other senior members of the community after she was allegedly disrobed by them when she refused to sign some papers. This, she stated, was allegedly done in connivance with the area police.
“Ghazala Shafiq has proved that she has no respect for the clergy and other leaders of the Christian community. She had no right to make a statement on a matter that is subjudiced,” a furious community member said in his speech. The forum was attended by the Protestant community from different parts of the city including Korangi, Ranchore Lines, Baldia Town, Drigh Road and Saddar among others.
Talking to The News separately, Bishop Daniel said that he was disappointed at the manner in which the private television channel accommodated Shafiq’s opinion, while ignoring the fact that the verdict of the case was still pending. “We fully support the freedom of the Press, but we should also realise that it comes with responsibility. Accusing the senior-most member of the Christian community will not be tolerated by any member,” said Young Women’s Christian Association President Nuzhat Williams.
The main accused in the case Diocese of Karachi (Church of Pakistan) Secretary Zafar Iqbal, said that Shafiq, who had joined the hostel as an administrator in 2001, was a Christian convert. He added that members of the community suspected that she had “ulterior motives” for converting from Islam to Christianity. “We have evidence of her frequent visits to Afghanistan from where she brought money to Pakistan to distribute among poorer members of the Christian community,” alleged Iqbal. “We suspected she may have been doing so to economically empower the Christians and then gradually turn them against the clergy, and so we decided to sack her.”
Members added that a massive protest will be held in the city on Sunday to condemn the incident. They have invited young members of the community to join hands to defend their faith.
(The News International)
Monday, June 29, 2009
Christians reject proposed 3% representation in Senate and National Assembly of Pakistan. Nazir Bhatti
Islamabad: June 29, 2009. (PCP) The sources in capital of Pakistan have revealed that Shahbaz Bhatti, Federal Minister for Minorities have forwarded a proposed bill to Law Ministry demanding 3% seats in Senate of Pakistan and National Assembly of Pakistan. This bill will take months or years to reach on floor of house for legislation but common Christian in Pakistan must know that it is an official acknowledgement of government claims that minorities are 3% of total population and Christians are 1.1% . The proposed bill shall enable minorities to secure 3 seats in Senate of Pakistan which shall be divided among Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Ahmedi, Parsi and other religious communities while 13 seats shall be allocated in National Assembly of Pakistan which shall be also divided under same formula. The seats in Senate and National Assembly according to proposed bill shall be covered under Joint Electorate where Muslim political groups shall select religious communities individuals of their choice.
The proposed bill of Shahbaz Bhatti shall increase 3 seats in National Assembly of Pakistan in existing 10 seats which shall not be due increase nor increase according to proportional to population.
Moreover, Shahbaz Bhatti have accepted claims of government that Christians are 1.1% of population by this proposed bill which is another stab in back of Christian nation because Christians have always claimed that they are 13% of population and deserve due share in democratic institutions and resources of Pakistan.
There were 4 Christian seats in house of 48 in first legislative assembly of Pakistan chaired by founder of Pakistan in 1948. The house was 235 in 1977, when Christian seats were 4, Hindu seats 4, Ahmedi 1 and remaining 1 for other religious minorities with special classification under Joint Electorate. In 1985, same allocation were classified under Joint electorate. Now the house is more than 350 without classification of Minorities seats in which Hindus nomination have increased than Christians.
The Pakistan Christian Congress PCC demanded 13% of seats in 1988 national general elections and challenged census conducted by government. The seats of Karachi division were increased from 12 to 20 under Sample Census formula by government but PCC demands to conduct Sample Census of Christian with assistance of PCC volunteers to increase in seats were denied by government.
It is amazing to note that seats of Muslims are increased from 48 to 350 but Christian seats have been decreased while Christian selected as Minority Minister is proposing a bill of 3% seats for minorities which is less than even Christian percentage in population.
Dr. Nazir S Bhatti, President of Pakistan Christian Congress PCC directed Punjab Council of PCC to file writ petition in Rawalpindi Bench of Punjab High Courts to challenge Joint Electorate and seats allocated under 17th amendment in constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
‘PCC will block any bill which undermines our population percentage in Pakistan by judicial campaign” said Nazir Bhatti
Dr. Nazir Bhatti added “we have many power hungry Christians in our lines who are tools of Muslim political groups and working to dismantle our unity and impose Muslim agenda on us by speaking their master’s voice like this 3% representation proposed bill”
“PCC will also challenge Census data declared by authoritiesin 2008, which is less than data made public in 1998. The conspiracy to decrease Christian population is unacceptable” Said Bhatti
(Pakistan Christian Post)
The proposed bill of Shahbaz Bhatti shall increase 3 seats in National Assembly of Pakistan in existing 10 seats which shall not be due increase nor increase according to proportional to population.
Moreover, Shahbaz Bhatti have accepted claims of government that Christians are 1.1% of population by this proposed bill which is another stab in back of Christian nation because Christians have always claimed that they are 13% of population and deserve due share in democratic institutions and resources of Pakistan.
There were 4 Christian seats in house of 48 in first legislative assembly of Pakistan chaired by founder of Pakistan in 1948. The house was 235 in 1977, when Christian seats were 4, Hindu seats 4, Ahmedi 1 and remaining 1 for other religious minorities with special classification under Joint Electorate. In 1985, same allocation were classified under Joint electorate. Now the house is more than 350 without classification of Minorities seats in which Hindus nomination have increased than Christians.
The Pakistan Christian Congress PCC demanded 13% of seats in 1988 national general elections and challenged census conducted by government. The seats of Karachi division were increased from 12 to 20 under Sample Census formula by government but PCC demands to conduct Sample Census of Christian with assistance of PCC volunteers to increase in seats were denied by government.
It is amazing to note that seats of Muslims are increased from 48 to 350 but Christian seats have been decreased while Christian selected as Minority Minister is proposing a bill of 3% seats for minorities which is less than even Christian percentage in population.
Dr. Nazir S Bhatti, President of Pakistan Christian Congress PCC directed Punjab Council of PCC to file writ petition in Rawalpindi Bench of Punjab High Courts to challenge Joint Electorate and seats allocated under 17th amendment in constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
‘PCC will block any bill which undermines our population percentage in Pakistan by judicial campaign” said Nazir Bhatti
Dr. Nazir Bhatti added “we have many power hungry Christians in our lines who are tools of Muslim political groups and working to dismantle our unity and impose Muslim agenda on us by speaking their master’s voice like this 3% representation proposed bill”
“PCC will also challenge Census data declared by authoritiesin 2008, which is less than data made public in 1998. The conspiracy to decrease Christian population is unacceptable” Said Bhatti
(Pakistan Christian Post)
Who is behind YMCA ground encroachment?
By Amar Guriro
KARACHI: Young Christian Association Bazarta Line office bearers have alleged that Pakistan Minority Front Chairman and former Sindh MPA Michael Javaid has allowed influentials to encroach the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) ground and to establish a charged parking lot in it. However, Javaid has bluntly rejected the allegations and has said that he is not involved.
Young Christian Association Bazarta Line office bearers Joseph and Zara alleged that Javaid has joined hands with influential people in grabbing the amenity plot of YMCA. Talking to Daily Times, they said that the Christian leader has given written permission for the establishment of a charged parking lot at the amenity plot. “Javaid has is only protesting against the parking lot to save face and to pressurise the influential people involved, however he has now made an agreement with them,” said Joseph.
It may be noted here that recently some mysterious banners appeared throughout the city, inviting the public to park their vehicles at the protected YMCA plot. Javaid had announced that a mass campaign would be started throughout the province against the charged parking at the plot, but despite the fact that many days have passed, Javaid has taken no action. “We demand that Federal Minister for Minority Affairs Shahbaz Bhati and other authorities conduct a high level inquiry into the matter and to ensure that if Javaid is guilty, he is punished. We are sure that the federal government will take interest in the matter,” said Joseph.
However, when Javaid was called for a comment, he bluntly rejected the allegation and said that he even cannot even imagine committing such an act. “I am very surprised to know that people think I am involved and I personally believe that it is a conspiracy against me. If they are sure that I am involved, they should prove it,” he said, adding that he has been struggling since a long time for the cause of his community.
(Daily Times)
KARACHI: Young Christian Association Bazarta Line office bearers have alleged that Pakistan Minority Front Chairman and former Sindh MPA Michael Javaid has allowed influentials to encroach the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) ground and to establish a charged parking lot in it. However, Javaid has bluntly rejected the allegations and has said that he is not involved.
Young Christian Association Bazarta Line office bearers Joseph and Zara alleged that Javaid has joined hands with influential people in grabbing the amenity plot of YMCA. Talking to Daily Times, they said that the Christian leader has given written permission for the establishment of a charged parking lot at the amenity plot. “Javaid has is only protesting against the parking lot to save face and to pressurise the influential people involved, however he has now made an agreement with them,” said Joseph.
It may be noted here that recently some mysterious banners appeared throughout the city, inviting the public to park their vehicles at the protected YMCA plot. Javaid had announced that a mass campaign would be started throughout the province against the charged parking at the plot, but despite the fact that many days have passed, Javaid has taken no action. “We demand that Federal Minister for Minority Affairs Shahbaz Bhati and other authorities conduct a high level inquiry into the matter and to ensure that if Javaid is guilty, he is punished. We are sure that the federal government will take interest in the matter,” said Joseph.
However, when Javaid was called for a comment, he bluntly rejected the allegation and said that he even cannot even imagine committing such an act. “I am very surprised to know that people think I am involved and I personally believe that it is a conspiracy against me. If they are sure that I am involved, they should prove it,” he said, adding that he has been struggling since a long time for the cause of his community.
(Daily Times)
Saturday, June 27, 2009
BOOK REVIEW: Our scared minority communities —by Khaled Ahmed
Thread not Scissors: Common Spiritual Heritage for Peace and HarmonyCompiled by Ahmad Salim; South Asia Resource Centre Islamabad 2009
Pp245
Price Rs400
Thank God we have got over our love of the Taliban or we would have had to apostatise a lot of other ‘potentially excludable’ communities to make the national flag almost half white. Shia, Ismaili, Bohra and Barelvi all would have found themselves in the white patch
The white patch in our flag are the non-Muslims. There was no one in our midst who objected to this separate white patch which means that there is a tacit Muslim acceptance of ‘separation’ of the non-Muslim. Even the Quaid did not protest who should have because he didn’t want people defined, divided or separated on the basis of religion. ‘Separation’ was something in the air after 1947. And the Muslim League flag had to be modified; so why not do it with a white patch?
If the white patch represented a proportion then it should have been shortened after East Pakistan left us. It should have been widened after we apostatised the Ahmedis and made them non-Muslim. Thank God we have got over our love of the Taliban or we would have had to apostatise a lot of other ‘potentially excludable’ communities to make the flag almost half white. Shia, Ismaili, Bohra and Barelvi all would have found themselves in the white patch.
Ahmad Salim and his authors talk about the Bahais, potentially excludable, but one of the most honourable and lovable communities of Muslims. There are approximately 30,000 of them in Pakistan. After the death of Bahaullah and the inauguration of the ministry of Abdul-Baha, the Bahai community in the Indian subcontinent was split as a consequence of the activities of the followers of Mirza Muhammad Ali who had challenged his half-brother’s right to legitimate leadership.
Abdul-Baha directed a number of prominent emissaries to India, both Persian and Western, to guide the community and encourage teaching. Among these were Mirza Mahmud Zarqani, Aqa Mirza Mahram, Mirza Hasan Adib, Ibin-i-Asdaq, Lua Getsingers Stanndard, Sidney Sprague, Hooper Harris and Harlan Ober. By 1908 these individuals along with a small group of local converts had produced functioning communities in Bombay, Calcutta, Aligarh and Lahore.
The Spiritual Assemblies of the Bahais in Pakistan date from 1904. In 1944, the Karachi Spiritual Assembly sent out pioneers to Lahore and the assembly there was formed between 1945 and 1950. Spiritual Assemblies in Multan, Hyderabad, Sukkur, and Rawalpindi were established later.
The Christians of Pakistan are the largest religious minority in Pakistan. The total number of Christians in Pakistan was at least 2 million in 2008, or 1.1 percent of the population. Of these, 1.4 million in 1998 were Catholic. However, the current number of Christians is debatable as the Catholic Church record of births contains higher figures than this. In 1998 there were 1.4 million members of the Protestant Church. That yields a total number of Christians at 2.8 million.
The Church of Pakistan is the largest Protestant denomination, which is a union of Anglicans, American Methodists, Scottish Presbyterians and Scandinavian Lutherans. It was formed in 1970. The Presbyterian Church of Pakistan is the third largest Christian denomination and the other Christians come from different indigenous and Pentecostal Free Churches. (p.98)
For centuries, Christians have been a part of this country. According to an estimate more than 90 percent of the country’s Christians reside in Punjab, making them the largest religious minority in the province. Approximately 60 percent of Punjab’s Christians live in the villages. The centuries-old presence of the Christian community in Pakistan is proof of their historical roots in the land where they lived in harmony and peace (p.98)
The history of the churches is an important part of the history of Christianity in the Indian subcontinent. Their history can be traced to several Christian missions from the 16th century onwards. Initially there were four dioceses in the Church of Pakistan, i.e. Karachi, Multan, Lahore and Sialkot; but in 1980, through a special resolution and for better ministerial work, four new dioceses were created: Hyderabad, Raiwind, Faisalabad and Peshawar. There are now 13 dioceses with eight active diocesan bishops and one bishop for the Gulf for Urdu-speaking Christians working there.
The Christian community of Pakistan has always played a vital role in nation-building, from the education to the health sector; from sanitation services to the general useful workforce. The Christian community feels that they cannot participate in the political and social aspects of the society as much as they would like as they feel that the society has not given them a sense of belonging.
Christian schools that were nationalised in 1972 have been returned to the church. The largest, Forman Christian College Lahore, was given back to the Presbyterian Church in 2003. Christians have also developed some outstanding institutions like the United Christian Hospital Lahore, Gujranwala Theological Seminary, St Thomas Theological College Karachi, Edwardes College Peshawar, Mission Hospital Sahiwal, and Kinnaird College for Women in Lahore.
There is a significant Hindu community in Pakistan. Presently Hindus make up 2 percent of Pakistan’s population. This is at least five times the number of Hindus in Britain. Prior to 1947, Hindus constituted 26 percent of the population in areas that comprise Pakistan. The Partition of India was the biggest forced migration of people in human history. After partition, the Hindus population decreased to 15 percent in this region.
Today there are 2.5 million Hindus in Pakistan. The largest Hindu population is in Sindh but there are small Hindu communities all over Pakistan. In Sindh, Hindus are a part of the society. For centuries Hindus and Muslims have lived together in Sindh. They speak the same language and share the same heritage and history. In other parts of the country there have been occasional threats to their property and lives. The authorities rarely intervene to help Hindus and that often makes matters worse.
For Sikhs, there are many historical sites in present-day Pakistan which are very important for the Sikh community. Nankana Sahib has special importance. The Samadhi of Ranjit Singh is located in Lahore. Nankana Sahib has nine Gurdwaras which are associated with different events in Guru Nanak Dev’s life. The town is an important site of pilgrimage for Sikhs from around the world. Each year thousands of Sikhs come to Pakistan from India and different parts of the world to pay homage
But after partition there was a marginal Sikh population left in Pakistan. There was an influx of the Sikh population to Pakistan during the civil war in Afghanistan. There was a Hindu and Sikh minority in Afghanistan and due to porous borders a large number of them fled from their homes in Kabul, Kandahar and Jalalabad to settle in different parts of Pakistan. Among these refugees were the Afghan Sikhs who joined their kinsmen in Peshawar and Lahore.
Harcharan Singh became the first Pakistani Sikh to join the Pakistan Army as a commissioned officer. Another Sikh Gulab Singh was selected as the traffic sub-inspector in Lahore. Both these Sikhs belong to the historic city called Nankana Sahib. Sikhs have been also encouraged to take part in the politics of the country as Kalyan Singh Kalyan was elected as the first Sikh provincial assembly member in Pakistan representing the Pakistan People’s Party. (p.225)
Parsis are the most pacific, public-spirited and gifted of Pakistan’s minorities. Bombay emerged as a hub of the community in the 19th century. Regional developments intervened and Sindh became part of the Bombay Presidency, opening new avenues for the Gujarati-speaking business community of Bombay.
Ambrin Hayat writes: “Parsis along with the Gujarati Hindus and Muslims came to Karachi to set up business. Some even went to Thatta and Hyderabad. Some drifted further and settled in Quetta. An adventurous family went to Multan and a few went on to Lahore and a couple to Peshawar.” However a major part of the community settled in Karachi where they lived and prospered with other Gujarati-speaking groups.
Parsi memory takes us back to Iran. Their biggest shrine is there. Seti Pir is situated east of Yezd and it is the shrine that marks the place where Yezdagird’s queen (Shahbanoo Hastbadan), the mother of the princesses, Banu-Pars and Hayat-Banu, herself fleeing from the invaders, jumped into a deep well, together with her two attendants, to save her honour.
Seti Pir is, therefore, regarded as the mother of the other five great Pirs. Avesta is the ancient scared text of the Parsis. Zend Avesta is a commentary on these holy texts. The scripture Avesta is divided into two parts, the Avesta and the Khorda Avesta. Avesta contains Yasna, Vispered and the Vendidad. *
(Daily Times)
Christian Human Right Activist goes in hiding after life threats
Lahore, Pakistan: June 27, 2009. (PCP reports) The accusation of blasphemy, gang rape of Christian girls, attacks on Christians and episode of threats have risen after Shahbaz Bhatti was risen to be a Federal Minister For Minorities in government of Pakistan Peoples Party PPP in Pakistan. The Pastors, laymen, Human right activists, women, elders and youth feel unsecured under present administration of Pakistan. Read this e-Mail to a prominent Christian Human right activists by a Muslim “ You all “M” “F” ...... if you are real men come forward .... you bastards you make websites against Islam.... but ALHAMDULLILAH see still the highest conversion rate in west is to ISLAM........ ALLAH is SOVEREIGN ALLAH IS GREAT..... LAAAILAHAA: The Remot Host of this e-Mail was identified as : 119.152.40.250: The sender also printed his name as Ghulam Nabi”
The Christian Human right activist reported this e-Mail and SMS threats to area Police but no action was taken against culprits and he was forced to fled from his home and home town.
The Christian activists (The name not printing due to security reasons) was born in Lahore in 1974 and secured post graduate degree in Computer Science.
He started one Christian Human Right Organization and launched its Website which was not appreciated by his Muslim friends and local Muslims.
The Christian victim e-Mailed Pakistan Christian Post “I started new Christian organization Named United Christian Organization i.e. www.ucopak.org. This organization was founded with only one thing in mind that we will provide some practical solution for the Christian of Pakistan as described in Mr. Nasir S. Bhatti in his book Trials of Pakistani Christian Nation. I belong to Lahore one of the big cities of Pakistan. I completed my first ten years in Christian school i.e. Cathedral School # 2 at 4 Church Road, Lahore, Pakistan. I had lot of Muslims friends. I always felt that we are not belong to Pakistan as it is only for Muslims because they made it and call it the Fort of Islam. No doubt for the long time I was engaged in for developing my self and to support my family. I always want to help my Christian brothers and sister . No doubt we have lot of organization in Pakistan who are trying there best to raise Christian up but I believe that we need a revolution like in India they made Kerala a most educated state in India. So we need to educate them, provide some jobs opportunities in Pakistan”
The fleeing Christian activists wrote more “Most of our Christians are uneducated and choices for them are sanitary work and to be involved in illegal liquor sale. As they know even after getting education they won’t get a good job most of them stay away from school and those who want had only choices to Muslims school. They are always humiliated for being Christian. There are Christian schools but they are expensive and even less to fulfill the need”
He started the organization in Feb 2009, to bring a new revolution of education among Christians but right now, he got trapped in Muslims blasphemy.
He wrote to PCP “I got lot of threats for being murdered from Muslims over my mobile phone. I and my brother manage to escape from Pakistan but still I am getting threats over my emails. I & my family consists of three brother, my wife and my son are in great danger. I have emailed hundred and thousands of persons out there but very less response. Most of them assuming that it is spam email, I have to return next month back to Pakistan but the condition is very bad they will capture me on the airport as my name is in the news papers. I am astonished to know that they are using my organization name and distributing anti-Islam material with my name. It is the same story they always do with non-Muslim. I request you to show this story so that people can know real truth about me.
“Things are getting worse and I believe that call for help to my Christian brothers and sister out there would result me getting out of this situation and I can continue my mission to help my fellow Christian brothers and sisters” he wrote
United Christian Organization: He explains
I always have an idea to help my poor and those who are suffering specially in Pakistan as I suffered a lot while my stay in Pakistan before going to Dubai as a Christian. And this is the time when I decided to start UCO with my brother keeping in mind these verses from the bible
Mathew: 6:33: But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
I stopped thinking about business and worldly things and decided to devote my self totally for this organization. We started the job by sponsoring a local church with the help of Mr. Younas a God fearing pastor. We were collecting data of the local persons their needs and solution to their problems. As deeply I studied the Christian problems and met local Christian I became more firm on the need of organization. There are lots of Christian organizations working in Pakistan but only coming out of our houses and protests would not help any of them. The benefit only goes to leader of the protest who could be elected in next election. I have vision to make a canann in Egypt. Making Christian 100% educated and providing them jobs from our own factories to get them out of their only choices i.e. sanitary work or illegal liquor sell. For more information you may visit my Site i.e. www.ucopak.org
He tells reason of Dispute
As we were collecting data about this concern, my idea came into the knowledge of some Muslims as well. Muslims who never admit that Christians are in problem in Pakistan, according to them we are enjoying the ideal freedom in Pakistan. Only one who says anything against Islam is in problem. So I got some calls from unknown numbers about my organization and they demand that I should stop spreading hate against Muslims and Islam. There was no hate I was spreading I just want Christian to realize and united for their betterment. There was no action against any Muslim or Islam but still they were insisting to stop my practice otherwise me and my family would be in great danger as I could be entrapped in blasphemy law for my activities. They want us to live a slave’s life in Pakistan. These threats didn’t make my decision weak at all. I am not afraid to die but I want scarifies my self for some reason not like this. Only afraid I have in my heart is for my family otherwise I would jump into the fire smiling.
What is future of Christians in Pakistan? The Federal Minority Minister Shahbaz Bhatti is hiding behind bunkers and working on agenda of Pakistan Peoples Party PPP government which is under influence of Hindus of Sindh.
PCP sources revealed that there are hundreds of true Christian civil society activist under threat of Muslim extremist groups while laymen activists under umbrella of Catholic Church and Church of Pakistan are enjoying protection of PPP government. Do government have planned to end true voice of Christian and protection of its tools?
PCP is receiving hundreds of mails of Christians under threats by Muslims extremists in Pakistan and their demands to invite attention of International community.
The Christian Human right activist reported this e-Mail and SMS threats to area Police but no action was taken against culprits and he was forced to fled from his home and home town.
The Christian activists (The name not printing due to security reasons) was born in Lahore in 1974 and secured post graduate degree in Computer Science.
He started one Christian Human Right Organization and launched its Website which was not appreciated by his Muslim friends and local Muslims.
The Christian victim e-Mailed Pakistan Christian Post “I started new Christian organization Named United Christian Organization i.e. www.ucopak.org. This organization was founded with only one thing in mind that we will provide some practical solution for the Christian of Pakistan as described in Mr. Nasir S. Bhatti in his book Trials of Pakistani Christian Nation. I belong to Lahore one of the big cities of Pakistan. I completed my first ten years in Christian school i.e. Cathedral School # 2 at 4 Church Road, Lahore, Pakistan. I had lot of Muslims friends. I always felt that we are not belong to Pakistan as it is only for Muslims because they made it and call it the Fort of Islam. No doubt for the long time I was engaged in for developing my self and to support my family. I always want to help my Christian brothers and sister . No doubt we have lot of organization in Pakistan who are trying there best to raise Christian up but I believe that we need a revolution like in India they made Kerala a most educated state in India. So we need to educate them, provide some jobs opportunities in Pakistan”
The fleeing Christian activists wrote more “Most of our Christians are uneducated and choices for them are sanitary work and to be involved in illegal liquor sale. As they know even after getting education they won’t get a good job most of them stay away from school and those who want had only choices to Muslims school. They are always humiliated for being Christian. There are Christian schools but they are expensive and even less to fulfill the need”
He started the organization in Feb 2009, to bring a new revolution of education among Christians but right now, he got trapped in Muslims blasphemy.
He wrote to PCP “I got lot of threats for being murdered from Muslims over my mobile phone. I and my brother manage to escape from Pakistan but still I am getting threats over my emails. I & my family consists of three brother, my wife and my son are in great danger. I have emailed hundred and thousands of persons out there but very less response. Most of them assuming that it is spam email, I have to return next month back to Pakistan but the condition is very bad they will capture me on the airport as my name is in the news papers. I am astonished to know that they are using my organization name and distributing anti-Islam material with my name. It is the same story they always do with non-Muslim. I request you to show this story so that people can know real truth about me.
“Things are getting worse and I believe that call for help to my Christian brothers and sister out there would result me getting out of this situation and I can continue my mission to help my fellow Christian brothers and sisters” he wrote
United Christian Organization: He explains
I always have an idea to help my poor and those who are suffering specially in Pakistan as I suffered a lot while my stay in Pakistan before going to Dubai as a Christian. And this is the time when I decided to start UCO with my brother keeping in mind these verses from the bible
Mathew: 6:33: But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
I stopped thinking about business and worldly things and decided to devote my self totally for this organization. We started the job by sponsoring a local church with the help of Mr. Younas a God fearing pastor. We were collecting data of the local persons their needs and solution to their problems. As deeply I studied the Christian problems and met local Christian I became more firm on the need of organization. There are lots of Christian organizations working in Pakistan but only coming out of our houses and protests would not help any of them. The benefit only goes to leader of the protest who could be elected in next election. I have vision to make a canann in Egypt. Making Christian 100% educated and providing them jobs from our own factories to get them out of their only choices i.e. sanitary work or illegal liquor sell. For more information you may visit my Site i.e. www.ucopak.org
He tells reason of Dispute
As we were collecting data about this concern, my idea came into the knowledge of some Muslims as well. Muslims who never admit that Christians are in problem in Pakistan, according to them we are enjoying the ideal freedom in Pakistan. Only one who says anything against Islam is in problem. So I got some calls from unknown numbers about my organization and they demand that I should stop spreading hate against Muslims and Islam. There was no hate I was spreading I just want Christian to realize and united for their betterment. There was no action against any Muslim or Islam but still they were insisting to stop my practice otherwise me and my family would be in great danger as I could be entrapped in blasphemy law for my activities. They want us to live a slave’s life in Pakistan. These threats didn’t make my decision weak at all. I am not afraid to die but I want scarifies my self for some reason not like this. Only afraid I have in my heart is for my family otherwise I would jump into the fire smiling.
What is future of Christians in Pakistan? The Federal Minority Minister Shahbaz Bhatti is hiding behind bunkers and working on agenda of Pakistan Peoples Party PPP government which is under influence of Hindus of Sindh.
PCP sources revealed that there are hundreds of true Christian civil society activist under threat of Muslim extremist groups while laymen activists under umbrella of Catholic Church and Church of Pakistan are enjoying protection of PPP government. Do government have planned to end true voice of Christian and protection of its tools?
PCP is receiving hundreds of mails of Christians under threats by Muslims extremists in Pakistan and their demands to invite attention of International community.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Christian woman facing blasphemy charges in Pakistan
Thirty-seven-year-old Asia Bibi was recently arrested by police on allegations of blasphemy in the village of Ittanwali, Punjab province, Pakistan.
On June 19, some of the Muslim women who work with Bibi on a farm owned by a local Muslim engaged in a heated discussion with Bibi about Islam. Bibi told them that Christ died on the cross for their sins and asked them what Mohammed had done for them. "Our Christ is the true prophet of God and yours is not true," Bibi said. The Muslim women became angry and began to beat her. Some men then locked her in a room. Muslims announced from mosque loudspeakers a plan to punish Bibi by blackening her face and parading her through the village on a donkey. Local Christians informed the police, who took Bibi into custody before the Muslims could carry out their plan. At last report she was being held at a police station in Nankana city and local Christians were urging the police not to file blasphemy charges. However, police claim that they must go forward due to pressure from local Muslim leaders.
Pray that Bibi will be released. Pray for strength for Bibi's family. Ask God to give boldness to Christians in Pakistan as they witness to their Muslim neighbours.
(Voice of Martyrs)
On June 19, some of the Muslim women who work with Bibi on a farm owned by a local Muslim engaged in a heated discussion with Bibi about Islam. Bibi told them that Christ died on the cross for their sins and asked them what Mohammed had done for them. "Our Christ is the true prophet of God and yours is not true," Bibi said. The Muslim women became angry and began to beat her. Some men then locked her in a room. Muslims announced from mosque loudspeakers a plan to punish Bibi by blackening her face and parading her through the village on a donkey. Local Christians informed the police, who took Bibi into custody before the Muslims could carry out their plan. At last report she was being held at a police station in Nankana city and local Christians were urging the police not to file blasphemy charges. However, police claim that they must go forward due to pressure from local Muslim leaders.
Pray that Bibi will be released. Pray for strength for Bibi's family. Ask God to give boldness to Christians in Pakistan as they witness to their Muslim neighbours.
(Voice of Martyrs)
All suspected killers of Christian leader acquitted
Friday, June 26, 2009By By Shamim Bano
KarachiAll five suspects apprehended for the assassination of Christian leader Ivan Edwin Moon were acquitted on Thursday due to lack of evidence in the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge, South, Abdul Naeem Memon.
The trial was conducted for about one year and seven witnesses recorded their statements in the court, but the prosecution failed to produce any evidential proof. Furthermore, no one confessed before the court. The acquitted were said to be affiliated with Tehreek-e-Islami Lahskari Jhangvi, and include Asif alias Pasha, Mohammed Atif, Zubairuddin alias Sharjeel, Wajahat and Mohammed Arshad. According to the prosecution, the suspects injected Church of Pakistan Karachi Diocese Secretary Ivan Edwin Moon with poison in 2002. The incident took place within the limits of Preedy Police station on April 22, 2002. The police arrested the accused on February 26, 2008 from Akhter Colony in an FIR lodged by Samuel Griffin under Section 302. Griffin informed the trial court that he received news on May 22, 2002, that his brother-in-law Edwin had passed away. He immediately rushed to the mortuary of Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK) where he discovered Moon’s corpse. The deceased’s employer, Farhan, said that Moon’s body was lying on a chair in their shop located in Al-Noor Chamber, and both his hands had been tied to the chair. Faan suspected that Moon had been administered a poisonous injection due to personal enmity. Defence Counsel Naeem Qureshi said that no eyewitness was produced and there wasn’t ample proof against the suspects. The court, in light of the facts as narrated, ordered the acquittal of five of the suspects for lack of evidence.
It is to be noted here that all the five suspects who were allegedly involved in the Rimpa Plaza murder case later the same year in which seven persons were killed also acquitted by the Anti-Terrorism Court on March 13, 2009, due to lack of evidence. Rimpa Plaza case was registered in PS Garden FIR 205/2002, Section 302Deputy-Public Prosecutor Abdul Maroof said that since there was no documentary proof against the accused, the court should close the file and acquit the accused.
(The News International)
KarachiAll five suspects apprehended for the assassination of Christian leader Ivan Edwin Moon were acquitted on Thursday due to lack of evidence in the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge, South, Abdul Naeem Memon.
The trial was conducted for about one year and seven witnesses recorded their statements in the court, but the prosecution failed to produce any evidential proof. Furthermore, no one confessed before the court. The acquitted were said to be affiliated with Tehreek-e-Islami Lahskari Jhangvi, and include Asif alias Pasha, Mohammed Atif, Zubairuddin alias Sharjeel, Wajahat and Mohammed Arshad. According to the prosecution, the suspects injected Church of Pakistan Karachi Diocese Secretary Ivan Edwin Moon with poison in 2002. The incident took place within the limits of Preedy Police station on April 22, 2002. The police arrested the accused on February 26, 2008 from Akhter Colony in an FIR lodged by Samuel Griffin under Section 302. Griffin informed the trial court that he received news on May 22, 2002, that his brother-in-law Edwin had passed away. He immediately rushed to the mortuary of Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK) where he discovered Moon’s corpse. The deceased’s employer, Farhan, said that Moon’s body was lying on a chair in their shop located in Al-Noor Chamber, and both his hands had been tied to the chair. Faan suspected that Moon had been administered a poisonous injection due to personal enmity. Defence Counsel Naeem Qureshi said that no eyewitness was produced and there wasn’t ample proof against the suspects. The court, in light of the facts as narrated, ordered the acquittal of five of the suspects for lack of evidence.
It is to be noted here that all the five suspects who were allegedly involved in the Rimpa Plaza murder case later the same year in which seven persons were killed also acquitted by the Anti-Terrorism Court on March 13, 2009, due to lack of evidence. Rimpa Plaza case was registered in PS Garden FIR 205/2002, Section 302Deputy-Public Prosecutor Abdul Maroof said that since there was no documentary proof against the accused, the court should close the file and acquit the accused.
(The News International)
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
PAKISTAN: TORTURED CHRISTIAN LANGUISHING ON FALSE CHARGES
Police maneuver to keep incapacitated son of preacher in jail – and out of hospital.
LAHORE, Pakistan, June 23 (Compass Direct News) – A 37-year-old Christian is languishing in a Sialkot jail after police broke his backbone because his father was preaching Christ, according to a local advocacy group.
Arshad Masih had been in a hospital – chained to his bed on false robbery charges – after police torture that began Dec. 28, 2008 left him incapacitated. He was discharged from Allama Iqbal Memorial Hospital in Sialkot on Saturday (June 20) and returned to jail despite efforts by the Community Development Initiative (CDI), a support group that is providing Masih legal assistance.
CDI Research Officer Napoleon Qayyum said that hospital personnel treated Masih callously, but that conditions there were better than in the jail in Sialkot. At least in the hospital, Qayyum said, Masih’s gray-haired father was able to carry him on his shoulders when he needed to go to the bathroom.
Hospital staff members released Masih even though they knew he would not receive the medical care he needs in jail and could face further abuse, the CDI researcher said.
“We told the hospital administration and doctors that Masih would be released from jail within a few days, so he should not be discharged from the hospital as he would not be taken care of in jail, but they paid no heed to our request,” Qayyum said.
He said Sialkot police gave assurances that Masih would be released from jail if he arrived there from the hospital by 10 p.m. A police van left early Saturday morning from Sialkot to bring Masih from the hospital in Lahore to Sialkot jail, but it did not reach the hospital until 6 p.m. even though it is only 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Sialkot to Lahore.
Qayyum said officers also invented delays on the return trip.
“Despite our requests to the police van staff, they reached the jail at 10:30 p.m.,” Qayyum said. “The Sialkot police used the delays to demoralize us by creating problems so that we do not file a petition for torturing.”
The CDI official said the group’s first priority is to “take him out of Sialkot so that police may not further create problems for him.”
Murder Threat
Hajipura police detained Masih on Dec. 28 on orders from the Sadar police station in Gujranwala, where Masih’s father, Iqbal Masih, had been preaching Christ.
The elder Masih, an itinerant preacher who has traveled to remote areas to proclaim Christ for three decades, told Compass that objections to his ministry led to false accusations of robbery against his son. Area Muslims resented his preaching and his visits to a Christian family in Gujranwala, he said, and told him to stop visiting the family.
“They told me that I was preaching a false religion and should stop doing it, and that I should succumb to their pressure,” the elder Masih told Compass.
Area Muslims had complained to Gujranwala police of the elder Masih’s efforts, and officers there first sought to arrest him in a case filed against “unidentified people,” he said. Later, he said, Gujranwala police told Hajipura police to charge his son in some robbery cases, as Arshad Masih lived in the Hajipura precincts.
When police arrested Arshad Masih on Dec. 28, they tortured him for several days, the younger Masih said.
“They hung me upside down all night, beat me and used all inhumane torture methods, leaving me permanently paralyzed,” he said.
Police falsely named him in a robbery case, according to CDI. All others named in the case were released after paying bribes, advocacy group officials said. Police officers also asked Masih’s father for a bribe of 50,000 rupees [US$620], the elder Masih said.
“They asked me as well for 50,000 rupees, but I refused to pay on the grounds that it was illegal and additionally I hadn’t that much money,” Iqbal Masih said.
The complainant in the robbery case eventually testified that Arshad Masih hadn’t been among the robbers, and he was granted bail. Before court orders reached the jail, however, Sialkot police informed Sadar police officers in Gujranwala, who arrived at the jail and had Masih remanded to them for a robbery case filed against “unidentified people.”
“Because of that, Masih could not be freed for one moment,” CDI’s Qayyum said.
Gujranwala police also threatened to kill Masih in a staged police encounter if he told the court that he had been tortured, according to CDI. They also warned him that he should not act as if he were in any pain in court.
The court, however, found him unable to stand and sent him to Allama Iqbal Memorial Hospital in Sialkot for medical examination. Gujaranwala police therefore had to leave him. But police did not tell Masih or CDI staff which police station was keeping Masih in its custody at the hospital.
With the help of the American Center for Law and Justice, CDI filed a case in the Gujranwala Sessions court for Masih’s bail and also provided some assistance for his medical treatment.
On June 16, the Sadar police station investigating officer told the court that police under his command were not detaining Masih, but that the Sialkot police were. Because the Gujranwala police were not detaining him, he argued, bail orders issued on March 23 for Masih’s release pertained to Sialkot and therefore Masih’s police custody in the hospital was illegal.
“The police have been keeping us in the dark so that we could never pursue the case in the right direction,” said CDI’s Qayyum. “How can a brutally tortured patient even heal their wounds in such mental agony when his hand is always tied in chains, and two policemen are maintaining a 24-hour watch over him?”
The researcher said he maintained hope that the judicial system would provide Masih relief from his agony, which has taken its toll on his family as well. Masih has three children that he has pulled from school due to lack of money.
His wife is illiterate and cannot make a living, CDI officials said, adding that Masih’s four married sisters are the main sources of his financial support.
(Compass Direct)
LAHORE, Pakistan, June 23 (Compass Direct News) – A 37-year-old Christian is languishing in a Sialkot jail after police broke his backbone because his father was preaching Christ, according to a local advocacy group.
Arshad Masih had been in a hospital – chained to his bed on false robbery charges – after police torture that began Dec. 28, 2008 left him incapacitated. He was discharged from Allama Iqbal Memorial Hospital in Sialkot on Saturday (June 20) and returned to jail despite efforts by the Community Development Initiative (CDI), a support group that is providing Masih legal assistance.
CDI Research Officer Napoleon Qayyum said that hospital personnel treated Masih callously, but that conditions there were better than in the jail in Sialkot. At least in the hospital, Qayyum said, Masih’s gray-haired father was able to carry him on his shoulders when he needed to go to the bathroom.
Hospital staff members released Masih even though they knew he would not receive the medical care he needs in jail and could face further abuse, the CDI researcher said.
“We told the hospital administration and doctors that Masih would be released from jail within a few days, so he should not be discharged from the hospital as he would not be taken care of in jail, but they paid no heed to our request,” Qayyum said.
He said Sialkot police gave assurances that Masih would be released from jail if he arrived there from the hospital by 10 p.m. A police van left early Saturday morning from Sialkot to bring Masih from the hospital in Lahore to Sialkot jail, but it did not reach the hospital until 6 p.m. even though it is only 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Sialkot to Lahore.
Qayyum said officers also invented delays on the return trip.
“Despite our requests to the police van staff, they reached the jail at 10:30 p.m.,” Qayyum said. “The Sialkot police used the delays to demoralize us by creating problems so that we do not file a petition for torturing.”
The CDI official said the group’s first priority is to “take him out of Sialkot so that police may not further create problems for him.”
Murder Threat
Hajipura police detained Masih on Dec. 28 on orders from the Sadar police station in Gujranwala, where Masih’s father, Iqbal Masih, had been preaching Christ.
The elder Masih, an itinerant preacher who has traveled to remote areas to proclaim Christ for three decades, told Compass that objections to his ministry led to false accusations of robbery against his son. Area Muslims resented his preaching and his visits to a Christian family in Gujranwala, he said, and told him to stop visiting the family.
“They told me that I was preaching a false religion and should stop doing it, and that I should succumb to their pressure,” the elder Masih told Compass.
Area Muslims had complained to Gujranwala police of the elder Masih’s efforts, and officers there first sought to arrest him in a case filed against “unidentified people,” he said. Later, he said, Gujranwala police told Hajipura police to charge his son in some robbery cases, as Arshad Masih lived in the Hajipura precincts.
When police arrested Arshad Masih on Dec. 28, they tortured him for several days, the younger Masih said.
“They hung me upside down all night, beat me and used all inhumane torture methods, leaving me permanently paralyzed,” he said.
Police falsely named him in a robbery case, according to CDI. All others named in the case were released after paying bribes, advocacy group officials said. Police officers also asked Masih’s father for a bribe of 50,000 rupees [US$620], the elder Masih said.
“They asked me as well for 50,000 rupees, but I refused to pay on the grounds that it was illegal and additionally I hadn’t that much money,” Iqbal Masih said.
The complainant in the robbery case eventually testified that Arshad Masih hadn’t been among the robbers, and he was granted bail. Before court orders reached the jail, however, Sialkot police informed Sadar police officers in Gujranwala, who arrived at the jail and had Masih remanded to them for a robbery case filed against “unidentified people.”
“Because of that, Masih could not be freed for one moment,” CDI’s Qayyum said.
Gujranwala police also threatened to kill Masih in a staged police encounter if he told the court that he had been tortured, according to CDI. They also warned him that he should not act as if he were in any pain in court.
The court, however, found him unable to stand and sent him to Allama Iqbal Memorial Hospital in Sialkot for medical examination. Gujaranwala police therefore had to leave him. But police did not tell Masih or CDI staff which police station was keeping Masih in its custody at the hospital.
With the help of the American Center for Law and Justice, CDI filed a case in the Gujranwala Sessions court for Masih’s bail and also provided some assistance for his medical treatment.
On June 16, the Sadar police station investigating officer told the court that police under his command were not detaining Masih, but that the Sialkot police were. Because the Gujranwala police were not detaining him, he argued, bail orders issued on March 23 for Masih’s release pertained to Sialkot and therefore Masih’s police custody in the hospital was illegal.
“The police have been keeping us in the dark so that we could never pursue the case in the right direction,” said CDI’s Qayyum. “How can a brutally tortured patient even heal their wounds in such mental agony when his hand is always tied in chains, and two policemen are maintaining a 24-hour watch over him?”
The researcher said he maintained hope that the judicial system would provide Masih relief from his agony, which has taken its toll on his family as well. Masih has three children that he has pulled from school due to lack of money.
His wife is illiterate and cannot make a living, CDI officials said, adding that Masih’s four married sisters are the main sources of his financial support.
(Compass Direct)
Pakistan Christian leader disapproves 'Catholic' prefix in statements
A Christian leader in Pakistan raised concern over the 'Catholic agenda' pursued by the Bishops Conference, Catholic Church and its umbrella organisations in the Islamic country.Dr. Nazir S Bhatti, President of Pakistan Christian Congress (PCC), last week, expressed dissatisfaction over the Catholic Church issuing statements that contains 'Catholic' prefix before a person's name.
Statements such as “Catholic federal minister Shahbaz Bhatti” or “A Catholic Shahbaz Bhatti rises up to Federal Minister” is causing widening rifts by damaging the unity of the Christian community, he warned.
The Christian leader argues that, "J Malik, a non-Catholic appointed as a Federal Minister, was never quoted in Pakistani press like "Catholic” or “Protestant” like “Shahbaz Bhatti, a Catholic Minister”."The present statements and press releases issued by Catholic Bishops Conference to tag Shahbaz Bhatti as Catholic Minister seems to be a conspiracy against unity of Christians in Pakistan, he says.
Moreover, Shahnaz "failed to fulfill his promises to secure social justice for Christians" and now is being called to resign from his post, Bhatti said.At this time, the PCC chief said, "unity among Christians in Pakistan is the only solution to their problems." "We hope that Catholic Bishops Conference will not dismantle unity by their press releases that divide Christians as “Catholics” and “ Church of Pakistan” congregates."Bhatti said it is high time to unite and help the Christian IDP's whose rehabilitation is a chief concern and must be addressed by the government.
(Christian Today)
Statements such as “Catholic federal minister Shahbaz Bhatti” or “A Catholic Shahbaz Bhatti rises up to Federal Minister” is causing widening rifts by damaging the unity of the Christian community, he warned.
The Christian leader argues that, "J Malik, a non-Catholic appointed as a Federal Minister, was never quoted in Pakistani press like "Catholic” or “Protestant” like “Shahbaz Bhatti, a Catholic Minister”."The present statements and press releases issued by Catholic Bishops Conference to tag Shahbaz Bhatti as Catholic Minister seems to be a conspiracy against unity of Christians in Pakistan, he says.
Moreover, Shahnaz "failed to fulfill his promises to secure social justice for Christians" and now is being called to resign from his post, Bhatti said.At this time, the PCC chief said, "unity among Christians in Pakistan is the only solution to their problems." "We hope that Catholic Bishops Conference will not dismantle unity by their press releases that divide Christians as “Catholics” and “ Church of Pakistan” congregates."Bhatti said it is high time to unite and help the Christian IDP's whose rehabilitation is a chief concern and must be addressed by the government.
(Christian Today)
Monday, June 22, 2009
Christian Groups Highlight 'Devastating' Violence Against Women, Girl Refugees
Christian groups and believers around the world capped a week of refugee advocacy with World Refugee Sunday in hopes of mobilizing more churches to pray for the more than 42 million refugees and internally displaced peoples.
Mon, Jun. 22, 2009 Posted: 08:54 AM EDT
Christian groups and believers around the world capped a week of refugee advocacy with World Refugee Sunday in hopes of mobilizing more churches to pray for the more than 42 million refugees and internally displaced peoples.
In particular, Christian relief groups this year used World Refugee Sunday and World Relief Day to highlight the plight of women and girl refugees, which some say governments have failed to protect from rape and other forms of violence and exploitation in conflict situations.
“[A]lthough the international humanitarian laws are in place that guarantee the protection of civilians, women, and children, they are not being upheld,” reported Martina Liebsch, head of Migration and Trafficking for Caritas Internationalis.
“Governments and UN agencies must address this failure by improving protection, medical treatment, counseling and means for rehabilitation and compensation,” she added. “Women should be encouraged to report on the abuses they suffered to start their healing. To do justice to their suffering their perpetrators should be brought to justice.”
Caritas, which works in conflict-torn areas around the world, noted how women and girls who have fled the conflict in Sri Lanka to go to camps say violence is their chief source of fear, for example. Overcrowding in camps leads to lack of privacy for women and adolescent girls and creates an environment for abuse, the Catholic relief group reported.
In Colombia, meanwhile, women and girls face sexual abuse, forced recruitment and exploitation as cheap laborers amid the country’s civil war. Around 17.7 percent of women in Colombia who had fled their homes reported the cause as sexual violence, Caritas noted.
And in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s troubled eastern region, 463 rape cases in South Kivu have been reported in the past three months – more than half the number reported in the whole of 2008.
What’s worse is that women and girls in eastern Congo fear soldiers meant to protect them as much as they do other armed actors involved in the intractable and brutal conflict, according to a new community-based study by international relief and development agency World Vision.
The study, carried out in the displacement camps and communities in North and South Kivu, found that women fear rape by any "men who wear uniforms," whether they be government forces or armed militias.
“Sixteen out of 18 focus groups named armed groups as the main perpetrators of violence against women and girls,” World Vision reported. “Eleven of the groups also felt that the government army was a threat to their safety and ten called for all soldiers to be removed and replaced by well-trained, well-paid police.”
As part of its work to help reduce the threat of violence against communities in eastern DRC, World Vision has trained 2,500 government soldiers and police officers in International Humanitarian Law since last October.
World Vision has also formed community protection committees made up of both men and women, which work to redress some of the issues raised in the study.
But groups such as World Vision and Caritas say more needs to be done in the government sectors to protect women and girls, who represent almost half of the internally displaced and refugee populations worldwide.
To call for action on protecting women and children refugees worldwide, Caritas members from 11 countries will be attending a U.N. consultation on refugees next week organized by the United Nation’s refugee agency, UNHCR, on June 29 in Geneva.
In her remarks, Caritas’ Liebsch noted how violence against women affects families, communities and villages. “The effects of this violence are devastating,” she added.
Eric YoungChristian Post Reporter
Mon, Jun. 22, 2009 Posted: 08:54 AM EDT
Christian groups and believers around the world capped a week of refugee advocacy with World Refugee Sunday in hopes of mobilizing more churches to pray for the more than 42 million refugees and internally displaced peoples.
In particular, Christian relief groups this year used World Refugee Sunday and World Relief Day to highlight the plight of women and girl refugees, which some say governments have failed to protect from rape and other forms of violence and exploitation in conflict situations.
“[A]lthough the international humanitarian laws are in place that guarantee the protection of civilians, women, and children, they are not being upheld,” reported Martina Liebsch, head of Migration and Trafficking for Caritas Internationalis.
“Governments and UN agencies must address this failure by improving protection, medical treatment, counseling and means for rehabilitation and compensation,” she added. “Women should be encouraged to report on the abuses they suffered to start their healing. To do justice to their suffering their perpetrators should be brought to justice.”
Caritas, which works in conflict-torn areas around the world, noted how women and girls who have fled the conflict in Sri Lanka to go to camps say violence is their chief source of fear, for example. Overcrowding in camps leads to lack of privacy for women and adolescent girls and creates an environment for abuse, the Catholic relief group reported.
In Colombia, meanwhile, women and girls face sexual abuse, forced recruitment and exploitation as cheap laborers amid the country’s civil war. Around 17.7 percent of women in Colombia who had fled their homes reported the cause as sexual violence, Caritas noted.
And in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s troubled eastern region, 463 rape cases in South Kivu have been reported in the past three months – more than half the number reported in the whole of 2008.
What’s worse is that women and girls in eastern Congo fear soldiers meant to protect them as much as they do other armed actors involved in the intractable and brutal conflict, according to a new community-based study by international relief and development agency World Vision.
The study, carried out in the displacement camps and communities in North and South Kivu, found that women fear rape by any "men who wear uniforms," whether they be government forces or armed militias.
“Sixteen out of 18 focus groups named armed groups as the main perpetrators of violence against women and girls,” World Vision reported. “Eleven of the groups also felt that the government army was a threat to their safety and ten called for all soldiers to be removed and replaced by well-trained, well-paid police.”
As part of its work to help reduce the threat of violence against communities in eastern DRC, World Vision has trained 2,500 government soldiers and police officers in International Humanitarian Law since last October.
World Vision has also formed community protection committees made up of both men and women, which work to redress some of the issues raised in the study.
But groups such as World Vision and Caritas say more needs to be done in the government sectors to protect women and girls, who represent almost half of the internally displaced and refugee populations worldwide.
To call for action on protecting women and children refugees worldwide, Caritas members from 11 countries will be attending a U.N. consultation on refugees next week organized by the United Nation’s refugee agency, UNHCR, on June 29 in Geneva.
In her remarks, Caritas’ Liebsch noted how violence against women affects families, communities and villages. “The effects of this violence are devastating,” she added.
Eric YoungChristian Post Reporter
Friday, June 19, 2009
Muslims Accuse ‘Mentally Challenged Girl’ of Blasphemy
The General Secretary of a fundamentalist Muslim party in Pakistan accused a Christian girl of blasphemy, taking her to the police who interrogated her for 16 hours.
On June 3, Muhammad Abid Raza returned to his home in Kharian to find that his younger brother had saved burnt pages of the Koran in plastic bags which he claimed had been burned by their Christian neighbor, Nazia. Even though it was 10pm, Raza said that he immediately alerted the Saddar Police Station.
The next day, police arrived at Nazia's home and took her and her family members to the police station for questioning, where they kept her for 16 hours. Police realized she was mentally challenged when she failed to respond clearly to basic questions. When police asked her name, she responded, "Nadia." A few moments later she suddenly said, "No, my name is Shaista," and then, "No, my name may be Nazia."
Raza did his own research after accusing her of blasphemy, inquiring about her from neighbors and discussing the issue with Muslim clerics. His investigation led him to drop his charges against Nazia and request that police set her free on June 5.
Jeremy Sewall, ICC's Advocacy Director, said, "There are two major concerns with this story. First, this is another example of why Pakistan's blasphemy laws are morally and legally bankrupt. Second, it shows that not even the mentally challenged are adequately protected from harassment and persecution. Praise God that Nazia was released, but her case illustrates exactly why Pakistan must repeal its extremist blasphemy laws."
[With Thanks from ASSIST News Service (ANS)]
On June 3, Muhammad Abid Raza returned to his home in Kharian to find that his younger brother had saved burnt pages of the Koran in plastic bags which he claimed had been burned by their Christian neighbor, Nazia. Even though it was 10pm, Raza said that he immediately alerted the Saddar Police Station.
The next day, police arrived at Nazia's home and took her and her family members to the police station for questioning, where they kept her for 16 hours. Police realized she was mentally challenged when she failed to respond clearly to basic questions. When police asked her name, she responded, "Nadia." A few moments later she suddenly said, "No, my name is Shaista," and then, "No, my name may be Nazia."
Raza did his own research after accusing her of blasphemy, inquiring about her from neighbors and discussing the issue with Muslim clerics. His investigation led him to drop his charges against Nazia and request that police set her free on June 5.
Jeremy Sewall, ICC's Advocacy Director, said, "There are two major concerns with this story. First, this is another example of why Pakistan's blasphemy laws are morally and legally bankrupt. Second, it shows that not even the mentally challenged are adequately protected from harassment and persecution. Praise God that Nazia was released, but her case illustrates exactly why Pakistan must repeal its extremist blasphemy laws."
[With Thanks from ASSIST News Service (ANS)]
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Bombing in Pakistan injures Christians
Pakistan (MNN) ― The sound of a parcel bomb exploding rang out in the streets of Hasilpur, Pakistan, in the Bahawalpur district last Saturday, June 13.
According to International Christian Concern, at least ten Christians were injured in the attack. Among the injured were four women and two children listed in very critical condition.
The incident was only one in a recent number of attacks against Christians and other minorities in Pakistan. Another incident occurred on May 9, when a Christian was beaten and stabbed to death for drinking tea in a Muslim-only tea stall.
Since the military campaign against the Taliban began, “the country has … witnessed spiraling violence targeting minorities,” according to ICC.
However, the explosion was not reported in the news, and Nazir S. Bhatti, chief of Pakistan Christian Congress, believed "the news was not highlighted in media due to Christians being targeted," ICC reports. He also said the Pakistani government censored the incident "to avoid international pressure and mounting human rights violations."
According to other sources, Pastor Salim Sadiq of Holy Spirit Church in Karachi said the community has been attacked because Islamic extremists have sworn to avenge "the suffering of their brotherhood."
Please pray for the Christian minority in Pakistan as they face increased persecution. Pray that they will remain strong, even in the face of death.
For updates on this and other stories, go to persecution.org.
(Mission Network News0
According to International Christian Concern, at least ten Christians were injured in the attack. Among the injured were four women and two children listed in very critical condition.
The incident was only one in a recent number of attacks against Christians and other minorities in Pakistan. Another incident occurred on May 9, when a Christian was beaten and stabbed to death for drinking tea in a Muslim-only tea stall.
Since the military campaign against the Taliban began, “the country has … witnessed spiraling violence targeting minorities,” according to ICC.
However, the explosion was not reported in the news, and Nazir S. Bhatti, chief of Pakistan Christian Congress, believed "the news was not highlighted in media due to Christians being targeted," ICC reports. He also said the Pakistani government censored the incident "to avoid international pressure and mounting human rights violations."
According to other sources, Pastor Salim Sadiq of Holy Spirit Church in Karachi said the community has been attacked because Islamic extremists have sworn to avenge "the suffering of their brotherhood."
Please pray for the Christian minority in Pakistan as they face increased persecution. Pray that they will remain strong, even in the face of death.
For updates on this and other stories, go to persecution.org.
(Mission Network News0
Muslims Halt Construction of Church Wall for Livestock
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 18, 2009) - International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that four radical Muslims are trying to stop Christians in Pakistan from building a boundary wall around the only church in their village because the Muslims use the church’s land to stable their livestock. To make matters worse, the police are refusing to defend the rights of Christians to build on their own property.
There are about 100 Christian families living in the village of Chung Khurd in the suburbs of Lahore Cantt who say they have peacefully co-existed with their Muslim neighbors for many years. Even though there have been Christians in this village for decades, it was not until last year that the community was able to pool funds to construct a church there. This year, the community raised money to construct a boundary wall around the church to keep out animals and thieves.
There are about 100 Christian families living in the village of Chung Khurd in the suburbs of Lahore Cantt who say they have peacefully co-existed with their Muslim neighbors for many years. Even though there have been Christians in this village for decades, it was not until last year that the community was able to pool funds to construct a church there. This year, the community raised money to construct a boundary wall around the church to keep out animals and thieves.
On May 3, they began construction of the boundary wall. Just a few hours after they had started working, a group of four Muslim neighbors, accompanied by police, approached the worksite and said they had a stay order from the courthouse to stop construction of the boundary wall.
The next day, the head representative of the Christian community, Bashir Masih, went to the police station to complain to the officer in charge. He was able to obtain a meeting with the Station House Officer on May 7, but when he arrived at the scheduled time, the officer refused to meet with him. Instead, the officer’s assistant told Bashir that the Muslims had the right to stop the church’s construction project.
Bashir told ICC that most of the Muslim residents of the village are in favor of the church being able to build the boundary wall. Only four men oppose it: Shaukat Shad, Mohammad Yousaf, Mohammad Abbas and Mohammad Akbar Bhatti. The reason why these four men oppose the construction of the boundary wall is that the church is located in a central position in the village and they use the premises of the church to park their cars and stable their cows and buffaloes.
On May 14, a group of Muslims told Bashir that the courthouse had scheduled a hearing on their case for May 26, even though they had not served notice to the church. In addition, police officers keep threatening the church not to work on the boundary wall, and claim it is because they are preparing a police report on the situation.
Despite repeated requests, the Station House Officer refused to speak to ICC.
Would you speak up for Bashir Masih and the Christians in Chung Khurd? Please call the Pakistani embassy in your country and ask them to give Christians equal and fair treatment in this case.
Source: International Christian Concern
There are about 100 Christian families living in the village of Chung Khurd in the suburbs of Lahore Cantt who say they have peacefully co-existed with their Muslim neighbors for many years. Even though there have been Christians in this village for decades, it was not until last year that the community was able to pool funds to construct a church there. This year, the community raised money to construct a boundary wall around the church to keep out animals and thieves.
There are about 100 Christian families living in the village of Chung Khurd in the suburbs of Lahore Cantt who say they have peacefully co-existed with their Muslim neighbors for many years. Even though there have been Christians in this village for decades, it was not until last year that the community was able to pool funds to construct a church there. This year, the community raised money to construct a boundary wall around the church to keep out animals and thieves.
On May 3, they began construction of the boundary wall. Just a few hours after they had started working, a group of four Muslim neighbors, accompanied by police, approached the worksite and said they had a stay order from the courthouse to stop construction of the boundary wall.
The next day, the head representative of the Christian community, Bashir Masih, went to the police station to complain to the officer in charge. He was able to obtain a meeting with the Station House Officer on May 7, but when he arrived at the scheduled time, the officer refused to meet with him. Instead, the officer’s assistant told Bashir that the Muslims had the right to stop the church’s construction project.
Bashir told ICC that most of the Muslim residents of the village are in favor of the church being able to build the boundary wall. Only four men oppose it: Shaukat Shad, Mohammad Yousaf, Mohammad Abbas and Mohammad Akbar Bhatti. The reason why these four men oppose the construction of the boundary wall is that the church is located in a central position in the village and they use the premises of the church to park their cars and stable their cows and buffaloes.
On May 14, a group of Muslims told Bashir that the courthouse had scheduled a hearing on their case for May 26, even though they had not served notice to the church. In addition, police officers keep threatening the church not to work on the boundary wall, and claim it is because they are preparing a police report on the situation.
Despite repeated requests, the Station House Officer refused to speak to ICC.
Would you speak up for Bashir Masih and the Christians in Chung Khurd? Please call the Pakistani embassy in your country and ask them to give Christians equal and fair treatment in this case.
Source: International Christian Concern
Pakistan Christian Student “Too Ugly” To Study Science
Wednesday, June 17, 2009 (12:32 pm)
By Jawad Mazhar, BosNewsLife Special Correspondent reporting from Pakistan
MIANWALI, PAKISTAN (BosNewsLife)-- A talented Christian student has been deniedadmission to Science studies at a girls high school in Pakistan because the Muslim school principal regards her as "too ugly" to participate, her father said Wednesday, June 17.
Abdullah Masih said the female principal of the Government Girls’ Mian Shahbaz SharifHigh School in the Pakistani city of Mianwali told his 14-year-old daughter Uzma Noreen: "Your ugly face is not fit for Science studies."The principal, who is also a science teacher and known only as Sofia, declined to discuss the situation in details, but made clear she had not changed her opinion about the Christian sudent.
DAUGHTER DEVASTATED
Masih, 42, told BosNewsLife his daughter was devastated. "Besides humiliating my daughter" the principal "also wrecked her educational career,” he added in a telephone interview. He said his daughter was punished for her Christian faith as she apparently scored most points of students participating in "the final examination of class eight" a key condition for Science studies in class nine."Her name was at the top of the list of students to whom admission in Science subjects was granted...Now she is rejected merely for being Christian," Masih claimed. "She was also told she is an ugly Christian girl and therefore her face does not appear to be fitting for Science studies in higher classes."This is no isolated incident, rights groups suggest. In recent months and years, several Christian students have reportedly been forced to leave educational institutions in Pakistan because of their faith.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Christians say they are getting threats of suicide bombs
By Anto Akkara, June 16, 2009
[Ecumenical News International, New Delhi] Christians in Pakistan say they are being threatened with violence by extremist groups claiming to represent Islam and they hope that a government offensive against militants in the Muslim nation will succeed.
Christian groups say extremists in a number of instances had given them a choice -- embrace Islam or ready themselves for attacks by suicide bombers.
Two masked young men riding motorbikes without registration numbers in the Pakistan city of Lahore on June 10 threatened to blow up the Rabita Manzil, a complex that houses several Roman Catholic groups, including the church's communications office.
The militants told a Catholic teacher living next to the complex that his family had to give up their Christian faith and pay a 1.5 million Pakistan rupee (US$18,500) fine or "be ready to be blown up in a suicide bomb attack.""We are really worried. The situation here is such that anything can happen anywhere," the Rev. Nadeem John Shakir, the director of the Catholic center, told Ecumenical News International.Shakir issued a press statement after the threat and police have stationed two guards at the entrance to the center.
More than three million civilians have fled the mountainous North West Frontier Province since early May, according to emergency aid groups, after the Pakistan government decided to break a pact it had struck with some Taliban groups. Government forces began to storm the strongholds of extremist militia.In February, in a bid to halt hostilities in the troubled regions around the Swat Valley and other districts, the Pakistan government had succumbed to a Taliban demand for the introduction of Sharia, an Islamic legal system, in the region, thereby rendering the constitution and the judicial system redundant.
Residents gave accounts of Islamic militants enforcing their writ ruthlessly, closing hundreds of schools educating girls, including Christian educational establishments. They forced many of those in the tiny Christian minority there to embrace Islam under threat of death, or quit the region. They also introduced jazia, a religious tax imposed only on minorities in other areas.The Pentecostal Bible school in Quetta was closed indefinitely in May, a month after Taliban militants threatened a suicide bomb attack.
On June 12, Allama Sarfaraz Ahmed Naeemi, an eminent Muslim religious scholar, was killed in a suicide attack at his seminary in Lahore. Reports said he had been targeted by extremists claiming to represent Islam after he had declared suicide bombing as un-Islamic. He had also supported the crackdown on Taliban groups in the region bordering Afghanistan.Following the killing of the cleric, church groups decided to scale down a major ecumenical march they had planned for the day to protest against "increasing attacks on minorities by fundamentalists.""We had only a token program and around 250 Christians took part in it," Victor Azariah, general secretary of the National Council of Churches in Pakistan, told ENI. "We are keeping a low profile these days. The situation is not a very happy one."
(Episcopal Life Online)
[Ecumenical News International, New Delhi] Christians in Pakistan say they are being threatened with violence by extremist groups claiming to represent Islam and they hope that a government offensive against militants in the Muslim nation will succeed.
Christian groups say extremists in a number of instances had given them a choice -- embrace Islam or ready themselves for attacks by suicide bombers.
Two masked young men riding motorbikes without registration numbers in the Pakistan city of Lahore on June 10 threatened to blow up the Rabita Manzil, a complex that houses several Roman Catholic groups, including the church's communications office.
The militants told a Catholic teacher living next to the complex that his family had to give up their Christian faith and pay a 1.5 million Pakistan rupee (US$18,500) fine or "be ready to be blown up in a suicide bomb attack.""We are really worried. The situation here is such that anything can happen anywhere," the Rev. Nadeem John Shakir, the director of the Catholic center, told Ecumenical News International.Shakir issued a press statement after the threat and police have stationed two guards at the entrance to the center.
More than three million civilians have fled the mountainous North West Frontier Province since early May, according to emergency aid groups, after the Pakistan government decided to break a pact it had struck with some Taliban groups. Government forces began to storm the strongholds of extremist militia.In February, in a bid to halt hostilities in the troubled regions around the Swat Valley and other districts, the Pakistan government had succumbed to a Taliban demand for the introduction of Sharia, an Islamic legal system, in the region, thereby rendering the constitution and the judicial system redundant.
Residents gave accounts of Islamic militants enforcing their writ ruthlessly, closing hundreds of schools educating girls, including Christian educational establishments. They forced many of those in the tiny Christian minority there to embrace Islam under threat of death, or quit the region. They also introduced jazia, a religious tax imposed only on minorities in other areas.The Pentecostal Bible school in Quetta was closed indefinitely in May, a month after Taliban militants threatened a suicide bomb attack.
On June 12, Allama Sarfaraz Ahmed Naeemi, an eminent Muslim religious scholar, was killed in a suicide attack at his seminary in Lahore. Reports said he had been targeted by extremists claiming to represent Islam after he had declared suicide bombing as un-Islamic. He had also supported the crackdown on Taliban groups in the region bordering Afghanistan.Following the killing of the cleric, church groups decided to scale down a major ecumenical march they had planned for the day to protest against "increasing attacks on minorities by fundamentalists.""We had only a token program and around 250 Christians took part in it," Victor Azariah, general secretary of the National Council of Churches in Pakistan, told ENI. "We are keeping a low profile these days. The situation is not a very happy one."
(Episcopal Life Online)
Monday, June 15, 2009
Pakistan Relief Efforts Under Threat, Say Agencies
When top EU officials meet with Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari this week, the plight of the more than one million people affected by fighting in the country’s Swat valley must be first on the agenda, insist nine major international aid agencies.
The agencies, which include faith-based CAFOD/Caritas and World Vision, say they urgently need funding in order to scale up their response in Pakistan and prevent a greater humanitarian crisis.
Presently, the agencies are under threat due to a lack of funds, facing a shortfall in excess of $42 million (USD). Some agencies risk having to downsize their relief programs or close altogether if funding isn't received soon.
“While we wait for funds, vulnerable people are struggling to meet their very basic needs," reported Graham Strong, World Vision Pakistan's country director.
Since the Pakistani army launched an offensive late April to expel Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants occupying the northwest area of Pakistan, close to the border with Afghanistan, millions of people have fled their homes.
Around 80 percent of the former residents of the region have since found shelter in neighboring host communities, according to reports. Those who have found themselves in one of the displaced persons’ camps that were installed, meanwhile, find themselves surrounded by an increasing number of people in places with insufficient sanitary and medical facilities.
"Pakistani families are sharing their homes, food, clothes and water with those fleeing violence. They are poor already and are making themselves poorer in the process," commented Strong, whose agency has been able to reach 3,500 people with health kits, mattresses and essential household items with limited private donations.
World Vision's assessment of the crisis found people are in great need of improved health services, hygiene, education, water, shelter and sanitation facilities.
In making last Thursday's appeal, the Christian humanitarian group joined together with ActionAid, CAFOD/Caritas, Care, Concern Worldwide, Islamic Relief, Merlin, Oxfam, and Save the Children.
The appeal was made less than a week before the first-ever EU-Pakistan summit on June 17 in Brussels, where EU officials will meet Pakistan's president.
(The Christian Post)
The agencies, which include faith-based CAFOD/Caritas and World Vision, say they urgently need funding in order to scale up their response in Pakistan and prevent a greater humanitarian crisis.
Presently, the agencies are under threat due to a lack of funds, facing a shortfall in excess of $42 million (USD). Some agencies risk having to downsize their relief programs or close altogether if funding isn't received soon.
“While we wait for funds, vulnerable people are struggling to meet their very basic needs," reported Graham Strong, World Vision Pakistan's country director.
Since the Pakistani army launched an offensive late April to expel Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants occupying the northwest area of Pakistan, close to the border with Afghanistan, millions of people have fled their homes.
Around 80 percent of the former residents of the region have since found shelter in neighboring host communities, according to reports. Those who have found themselves in one of the displaced persons’ camps that were installed, meanwhile, find themselves surrounded by an increasing number of people in places with insufficient sanitary and medical facilities.
"Pakistani families are sharing their homes, food, clothes and water with those fleeing violence. They are poor already and are making themselves poorer in the process," commented Strong, whose agency has been able to reach 3,500 people with health kits, mattresses and essential household items with limited private donations.
World Vision's assessment of the crisis found people are in great need of improved health services, hygiene, education, water, shelter and sanitation facilities.
In making last Thursday's appeal, the Christian humanitarian group joined together with ActionAid, CAFOD/Caritas, Care, Concern Worldwide, Islamic Relief, Merlin, Oxfam, and Save the Children.
The appeal was made less than a week before the first-ever EU-Pakistan summit on June 17 in Brussels, where EU officials will meet Pakistan's president.
(The Christian Post)
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