Christian Persecution in Pakistan remains one of the most serious religious freedom concerns in Asia, as believers face accusations under blasphemy laws, mob violence, forced conversions, church attacks, discrimination, and pressure from extremist groups. Worthy News tracks developments affecting Christians in Pakistan, including court cases, arrests, attacks on churches and villages, religious liberty concerns, and international responses.
The chief lawyer defending Christian women who were reportedly sexually abused by activists of Pakistan’s ruling party said Monday, June 24, that Muslim militants have threatened to kill him if he and his legal team continue with this case or others, including attacks on a Christian neighborhood and rape.
A 16-year-old Christian convert from Islam remained missing, some two weeks after he was kidnapped by Islamic militants in Pakistan’s volatile Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Christians said.
The Executive Council of Pakistan’s Christian Congress issued a press release Saturday condemning the upcoming national election because 51 percent of Pakistani women and 18 percent of Pakistan’s population will not be voting for any candidates.
The Legal Evangelical Association (for) Development (LEAD) filed a bail petition Monday in the Session Court of Lahore on behalf of Sawan Masih, an imprisoned Pakistani Christian accused of blasphemy.
Within hours after Pakistan’s Supreme Court condemned police for not stopping rampaging Muslims from destroying nearly 200 Christian homes in the Joseph Colony of Lahore, another Muslim mob damaged Christian-owned shops and a church in the Francis Colony of Gujranwala on April 3.
Although the government of Pakistan promised to rebuild nearly 200 Christian homes destroyed by a Muslim mob in Lahore on March 9, many doubt it will bring the rioters to justice because anti-Christian violence perpetrated in Pakistan often operates with impunity.
The Leadership for Environment And Development (LEAD) has just released an initial report concerning a case of alleged blasphemy in Pakistan that resulted in the repeated burning and destruction of Christian homes and property at the St. Joseph Colony in the neighborhood of Bedami Bagh, north of Lahore, Punjab.
A Muslim mob attacked a Christian neighborhood in eastern Pakistan torching up to 100 homes and injuring dozens, after hearing reports that a Christian man committed blasphemy against Islam.
The Chairman of the Pakistani American Association called on Christians not to vote for any Islamic political parties in the forthcoming elections unless Muslims promise to repeal their nation’s notorious blasphemy laws while granting dual voting rights for all Pakistani Christians.
Pakistan’s Supreme Court has dismissed a final attempt to reopen a blasphemy case against a mentally challenged Christian teenager, Christian rights activists confirmed.
In Islamabad Sunday, a man accused his own uncle of disrespecting the Prophet Muhammad, prompting local authorities to register the case under Pakistan’s notorious blasphemy laws as determined by the legal personnel at Police Station I-9.
A Protestant missionary remains in critical condition in Jinnah Hospital, Lahore, after she was shot by gunmen multiple times Tuesday.
On a Monday afternoon in October, Timar Shahzadi was returning from school with her friends when she was kidnapped by Muslims, but when her Christian family reported it to the Koral police station in Islamabad, they did nothing, according to the Pakistan Christian Post.
A Pakistani court has dismissed blasphemy charges against a Christian girl for allegedly burning pages of the Qu’ran.
A Pakistani Pastor arrested for blasphemy in Sanghla Hill, Punjab Province, was denied bail Tuesday, according to the Pakistan Christian Post.
A Christian girl who had been abducted from Sukkur in Sindh was recently remanded to her alleged kidnapper husband by the Sindh High Court after rejecting all appeals by her lawyer to send her home with her father.
A open letter by the Bishop of Karachi reminded all religious that living in the Internet age means their faiths will be mocked and that the mockery will find its way to them anywhere in the world.
An evangelical Pakistani pastor was recovering of his injuries after he was shot by suspected Islamic militants who oppose his Christian activities, an advocacy group said.
A mentally challenged Christian girl who was detained in Pakistan on charges of ‘blasphemy against Islam’ has fled to Norway with family members, a Christian official involved in the operation confirmed.
Pakistani police say they have found no evidence that a mentally challenged Christian girl burned pages with verses of the Koran, deemed a holy book by Muslims, in a case that sparked international upheaval, Worthy News learned.