Category: Pakistan

Pakistan: Christian Church torched in Sialkot over ‘desecration'”

Pakistan Daily Times:  “Church torched in Sialkot over ‘desecration'”
— “An angry mob torched a church in Sambarial area of Sialkot over alleged desecration of the holy Quran, a private TV channel reported on Friday.”
— “According to the channel, a Christian boy snatched the holy Quran from a 10-year-old girl and allegedly disrespected it.”
— “After the incident, an infuriated mob set a church on fire.”

Pakistan: Extremists threaten life of Catholic minister leading the fight against blasphemy law

Asia News: extremists threaten life of Catholic minister leading the fight against blasphemy law
— “Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti confirms he was the subject of intimidations. He says however that he is ready ‘for any kind of sacrifice for his people.’ All he wants is justice for the victims of Gojra and compensation for survivors. The National Commission for Justice and Peace continues its action to repeal the country’s blasphemy laws.”

Pakistan: 5000 Hindus Flee Pakistan

TNN reports:

Fearing Taliban, Pak Hindus take Thar Express to India

In the past four years, some 5,000 Hindus may have crossed over from Pakistan, never to return. It has not been easy abandoning their homes, sometimes even their families, but they say they had no choice: they had to flee the Taliban.

It started as a trickle in 2006, the year the Thar Express was flagged off. The weekly train starts from Karachi, enters India at Munabao, a border town in Barmer, and runs up to Jodhpur. In the first year, 392 Hindus crossed over.

This grew to 880 in 2007. The next year, the number was 1,240, and this year, till August, over 1,000 have crossed over. They just keep extending their visas and hope to become Indian citizens.

Incidentally, these are official figures. Sources say there are many more who cross over and melt in the local milieu. And officials have a soft corner for these people, most of whom have harrowing stories to tell.

Ranaram, who used to live in the Rahimyar district of Pakistan’s Punjab, says he fell prey to the Taliban. His wife was kidnapped, raped and forcibly converted to Islam. His two daughters were also forcibly converted. Ranaram, too, had to accept Islam for fear of his life. He thought it best to flee with his two daughters; his wife was untraceable.

Dungaram, another migrant, says atrocities against Hindus in Pakistan have increased in the past two years after the ouster of Musharraf. “We won’t get permanent jobs unless we convert to Islam.”

Hindu Singh Sodha, president of Seemant Lok Sangathan, a group working for the refugees in Barmer and Jaisalmer, says there’s unfortunately no proper refugee policy in India even though people from Pakistan reach here in large numbers.

He said in 2004-05, over 135 families were given Indian citizenship but the rest are still living illegally in the country and are often tortured by police because they don’t have proper citizenship certificates. “In December 2008, over 200 Hindus were converted to Islam in Mirpur Khas town of Pakistan. But there are several others who want to stick to their religion but there’s no safety for them in Pakistan.”

Immigration officer at Munabao railway station, Hetudan Charan, says the arrival of Hindu migrants had suddenly increased as over 15 to 16 families were reaching India every week. “None of them admit they are to settle here but seeing their baggage, we easily understand,’’ he said.

Ravi Kumar, who was Barmer collector till his transfer two days back, said the government in 2007 had given permanent citizenship to a few Pakistani immigrants.

Pakistan: Hindus leave Pakistan to flee Extremist oppression

— Times of India: “Fearing Taliban, Pak Hindus take Thar Express to India”
— “In the past four years, some 5,000 Hindus may have crossed over from Pakistan, never to return. It has not been easy abandoning their homes, sometimes even their families, but they say they had no choice: they had to flee the Taliban. “

Pakistan: Christians in Pakistan Fear Further Firestorms

COMPASS: Christians in Pakistan Fear Further Firestorms
— COMPASS reports:
— “In the wake of Islamists setting fires that killed at least seven people in Punjab Province last month, the latest of several attempts to provoke further attacks on Christians took place in a village on Friday (Sept. 4) when unidentified men tore pages of the Quran and left them at a church.”
— “Police said they were able to cool tensions in Chak 8-11-L Mission Village, near Chichawatni, after the torn pages of the Muslim scriptures were left at the Associated Reformed Presbyterian Church and on a nearby road. Sources said they have witnessed similar attempts to ignite attacks on Christians in several areas of Punjab Province since an Islamic mob on Aug. 1 burned seven Christians alive in Gojra over a false accusation of blaspheming the Quran.”
— “Superintendent of Police Ahmed Nawaz Cheema said the pages of the Quran were left at the dividing line between Chak 8’s Christian-inhabited Mission village and the Muslim-populated Maliks village, indicating ‘it was planted to create tensions between the two villages.'”
— “Associated Reformed Presbyterian Church Pastor Salmoon Ejaz told Compass that Muslim women on their way to glean cotton early in the morning had found the torn pages of the Quran. They took the pages to local Muslim clerics, who in turn took them to the police. Pastor Ejaz said the clerics came to Christian leaders and told them they had no suspicion that Christians had torn the pages, and that both Muslims and Christians should be vigilant and try to find the culprit.”
— “Since then, the pastor said, the situation has been tense but under control, with police fully cooperating.”
— “‘The situation is calm, and we have no fear from the local Muslims, but the real threat is from the madrassas of Chak 11-11-L, 81-9-L and Multan Road,” said the pastor of the church, which was founded in 1906. “Even in Gojra the local Muslims had not attacked, but outsiders were the assailants, and that is the reason we are still frightened.'”

Pakistan: Pregnant woman killed for changing sect – from Sunni to Shia Islam

Pakistan Daily Times: Pregnant woman killed for changing sect – from Sunni to Shia Islam
— Pakistan Daily Times reports: “Ayesha Obaid, a pregnant woman who was seriously injured by gunmen in a Mirpurkhas village on Friday, died on Sunday night at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC). Ayesha married Hassan Raza on June 25, and the two had been moving from town to town because Ayesha had changed her sect from Sunni to Shia, invoking the ire of her father, Qari Obaidullah.”

Pakistan: Murder of Couple and Adopted Child — Motive Appears Their Freely Choosing Marriage — Family Suspected

Pakistan Daily Times reports:  “Couple’s bodies identified”
— “A 40-year-old man killed a day earlier along with his wife has been identified as a retired army personnel on Saturday. The police is said to have adopted their six-month-old child.”
— The investigators believe that their family is behind the assassination as they got married according to their own free will after escaping from their hometown two years ago.”
— “A day has passed since their assassination but their families have not yet contacted the police and the investigators, through their efforts, have identified the couple and are still trying to contact their families. The man was identified as Mohammad Idrees, son of Mohammad Saleem while his wife as Tasleem, 34.”
— “The gunshot bodies of the couple were found from the nullah located at factory area, Abidabad in the limits of Mochko police station on Friday and then the bodies were shifted to the Edhi morgue, Sohrab Goth after legal formalities were completed in the Civil Hospital, Karachi (CHK). The case of the dual murder has also been registered at the Mochko police station.”
— “Both got married according to their own will out of love.”

Pakistani Police Arrest Two Christians for Eating During Ramadan

ICC reports:

“Pakistani Police Arrest Two Christians for Eating During Ramadan”

“Washington, D.C. (September 1,2009) – International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on August 25, police in Pakistan arrested two Christians for eating during the Islamic fasting season of Ramadan in the city of Silanwali.”

“Gull Masih and Ashir Sohail were traveling to Lahore when their bus stopped at the Bismillah Hotel to let off passengers. After the waiter served them tea and a snack, several policemen started to question them as to why they were desecrating Ramadan by eating during the Islamic fasting season. The two Christians told the police that since they are Christians, they are not supposed to fast during Ramadan.”

“The police then threw them in a van and took them to the Silanwali police station and registered a case against them, alleging that the Christians desecrated the Islamic fasting month. Later the police transferred the Christians to the district jail in Sargodha. Now their case is pending before a court.”

“Azzaq Bhatti, the father of Gull Masih and paternal uncle of Ashir Sohail, in an interview with ICC said that, “during Lent, all Muslims eat, drink and smoke publicly and neither police nor government authorities take notice of it. And none of the Muslims are arrested for desecrating Christians’ Lent season.'”

“ICC’s Jonathan Racho said, ‘Forcing Christians to fast during the Islamic fasting month is both outrageous and a clear violation of freedom of religion. We call upon Pakistani officials to immediately release Gull and Ashir and take appropriate legal measures against police officers who detained them.'”

“Please contact the Embassy of Pakistan in your country and politely ask the Pakistani officials to immediately release Gull and Ashir.”

Pakistan Embassies:

USA:      (202) 243-6500
Canada:  (613) 238-7881
UK:         0870-005-6967