Pakistan

Christians in Pakistan’s Punjab province are mourning Suleman Masih, a 25-year-old Christian farmer, who they say was “brutally murdered” by “Muslim landlords” on New Year’s Day.

A 50-year-old Christian woman in Punjab Province, Pakistan has been jailed after being charged with committing blasphemy by allegedly burning books containing Islamic scripture, Morning Star News (MSN) reports.

A 17-year-old Christian youth who is incarcerated in Punjab Province, Pakistan has been granted bail in one of three cases against him of blasphemy – although he will remain in prison over Christmas because of the remaining two cases, Morning Star News (MSN) reports.

A Christian family in Pakistan’s Sindh Province is rejoicing over the return of their 15-year-old daughter after she escaped from the Islamist who abducted her and forced her to marry him earlier this year, Morning Star News (MSN) reports.

There was hope Tuesday for at least some of the thousands of Christians held as “bonded labors” in Islamic-ruled Pakistan, with Christian aid workers telling Worthy News they freed 100 Christian families ahead of Christmas.

A pastor in Punjab Province, Pakistan has taken his family into hiding after police failed to arrest an Islamic neighbor who raped his 14-year-old daughter and then threatened them all, Morning Star News (MSN) reports.

Police in Punjab Province, Pakistan, have refused to arrest an Islamic man who is accused of raping a young Christian woman at gunpoint earlier this month, Morning Star News (MSN) reports. 

A second Christian charged with blasphemy in Pakistan was released on bail pending trial last week after a court found there was no direct evidence in the three cases brought against him, Christian Daily International (CDI) reports.

In a rare move for a Pakistani court, a trial judge in Punjab Province, Pakistan, last month granted bail to a Christian mother falsely accused of blasphemy, Christian Daily International (CDI) reports.

Two sisters, both Christians, have been acquitted two months after being charged with “blasphemy” against Islam in Pakistan’s Punjab province, but concerns remain about other believers still held in Pakistani prisons, Christians said.

A kidnapped 16-year-old Christian girl was back with her parents in an area of Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, on Thursday after being rescued by Christian activists, a representative said.

Concerns mounted Friday about the plight of Pakistani Christian Zafar Bhatti, a pastor listed as Pakistan’s longest-serving blasphemy prisoner, who is facing execution.

Christians have urged “prayers for the safety of girls” in Pakistan after a Christian girl who was kidnapped last month, forced to convert to Islam, and marry one of her Muslim captors came to symbolize their suffering.

A 16-year-old Christian girl has been kidnapped from her home in Punjab Province, Pakistan, and forced into marriage with the Islamic man who abducted her, Morning Star News (MSN) reports. With an increasing number of young non-Muslim girls being abducted and forced into Islamic marriages, Pakistan ranks 7 on the Open Doors World Watch List 2024 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.

A Pakistani court has sentenced Shagufta Kiran, a Christian mother of four, to death for “committing blasphemy against Islam,” a senior Christian advocacy activist told Worthy News Thursday.

Pakistani authorities detained a police officer who allegedly shot dead a man for “blasphemy against Islam” following the recent killing of a Christian on similar charges, Worthy News established Saturday.

Over a year after thousands of furious Muslims attacked a Christian area in the city of Jaranwala in Pakistan’s Punjab province, many survivors living there still await promised “relief and justice,” well-informed Christian aid workers told Worthy News.

There was concern Thursday about three Christian youngsters in Pakistan, including a 12-year-old girl who was forced to marry and convert to Islam while two 18-year-old brothers were charged with blasphemy, several sources said.

One year after the devastating Islamic riot against Christians in Jaranwala, Pakistan in August last year, just 12 of the more than 300 people arrested are facing trials, Morning Star News (MSN) reports. Islamic-majority Pakistan ranks 7 on the Open Doors World Watch List 2024 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.