Christian Leader Welcomes US Call To Keep Pakistan On Religious Freedom Watch List

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent

LAHORE, PAKISTAN (Worthy News) – A Christian rights leader in Pakistan has welcomed a recommendation by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) to keep Pakistan designated as a “Country of Particular Concern” amid reports of widespread violence against Christians and other minorities.

Sardar Mushtaq Gill spoke Sunday after the USCIRF, an independent, bipartisan federal agency, confirmed it had asked the U.S. State Department to maintain the designation.

He told Worthy News the recommendation underscores what he described as ongoing severe violations of religious freedom in the Muslim-majority nation.

Pakistan has been designated a “Country of Particular Concern” since 2018 by the U.S. Department of State, a classification reserved for governments engaged in or tolerating “systematic, ongoing, and egregious” violations of religious freedom.

Christians make up an estimated 2 to 3 million people in Pakistan, a small minority in the country of more than 240 million inhabitants.

VIOLENCE AGAINST CHRISTIANS

Gill, founder of the advocacy group LEAD Ministries, said the international community must pay closer attention to escalating violence against Christians, including killings, torture, mob attacks, and forced conversions.

He pointed to several recent cases involving Christian victims. Among them was a Catholic man in Bahawalpur who was allegedly doused with petrol and set on fire following a dispute with a neighbor, suffering severe burns.

In another incident, a Christian factory worker was seriously injured after a coworker allegedly slit his throat while accusing him of touching an Islamic text with “unclean hands,” according to rights advocates.

Gill also referred to the reported torture and killing of a Christian laborer and the murder of an 11-year-old Christian girl in Gujranwala, incidents that sparked outrage among local communities.

“These cases illustrate the brutal reality Christians face daily,” Gill said.

FORCED CONVERSIONS IN PAKISTAN

Gill warned that underage Christian boys, as well as girls, are victims of forced religious conversions.

He cited the case of a 14-year-old Christian boy who was allegedly forcibly converted and held against his will by a landlord, highlighting what he described as an often overlooked pattern of abuse.

Additionally, human rights groups say hundreds of Christian and Hindu girls in Pakistan are abducted each year, often forced into marriage and pressured to convert to Islam.

In recent days, Worthy News also documented the killing of a young Christian agricultural worker and the alleged rape of a 10-year-old Christian girl in Punjab province — the latest in a series of reported attacks targeting the Christian minority.

Rights groups say Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws have also contributed to violence against minorities.

DEATH SENTENCES POSSIBLE

The laws allow severe penalties, including death sentences, for insulting Islam or the Prophet Muhammad, though no executions have been carried out under the legislation.

However, accusations of blasphemy have led to the imprisonment of numerous Christians and other minorities and have sometimes triggered mob attacks and killings.

Gill urged governments, human-rights groups, and international institutions to document cases of killings, torture, and forced conversions more thoroughly and press for reforms aimed at protecting minorities.

“Christians continue to endure systemic discrimination, violence, and forced conversions,” he said. “The international community must urgently monitor these abuses and advocate for legal reforms to ensure justice, protection, and equal rights for all citizens.”

Pakistan ranks 8th on the Open Doors World Watch List, an annual ranking of the 50 countries where Christians face the most severe persecution. Gill urged the international community to support Christians and other minorities in Pakistan and press for reforms ensuring protection for all citizens.

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