Pakistan

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

(Romans 8:37–39 ESV)

 

Pakistan’s National Assembly (NA) has passed a resolution condemning the recent mob-lynchings of Christians in the country. The NA urged both federal and provincial governments to ensure the safety and security of all citizens, including Christians.

The Federal Minister for Defence, Khawaja Asif, stated that the rising incidents of violence against Christians in the country was an embarrassment: “We must ensure the safety of our minority brothers and sisters. They have as much right to live in this country as the majority.”

The statement comes after radical Islamists led a mob that ransacked shops owned by Christians in Punjab province on May 25, using allegations of desecration of the Quran. The mob singled out a Christian man, Nazir Gill Masih, brutally attacked him and his family and burned down his factory.

Masih was hospitalised in critical condition and later succumbed to his injuries. Many Christian families managed to escape the mob by locking themselves inside their houses. Police have registered a case against more than a hundred people.

In 2023, the NA voted to increase the punishment for blasphemy offences from three to at least ten years of imprisonment. That year, thousands of rioters had burned 400 homes and 26 churches using fabricated allegations of blasphemy, sending Christian villagers fleeing for safety. Experts say the country’s strict blasphemy law is often abused to intimidate Christians and other minority groups and to settle personal scores. Blasphemy is punishable by death in Pakistan.

 

Home Group Prayer

Dear Lord,

We thank you for the country of Pakistan and lift it up  to you, especially your people there who live in fear and insecurity. May the light of your glory fill this nation and turn hearts to you. Reveal yourself to people in dreams and visions, so they come to know your love.

We especially lift up the problem of Pakistan’s blasphemy Law. We ask that it be changed or abolished and that people would not misuse it for personal gain. May believers there know your presence and claim your promises to never leave them nor forsake them. Please be near to those who are suffering and in prison. Be their hope and their comfort.

We commit Pakistan into your hands, and pray for your hedge of protection around our brothers and sisters there.

In Jesus’ name.

Amen.

“Whoever  calls  on  the  name  of  the  Lord  shall  be  saved.”
(Romans 10:13; Acts 2:21; Joel 2:32)

Police in Pakistan have arrested a Christian couple in Punjab province after a complaint was filed against them after allegedly “torn pages” of the Quran were found on the roof of their house. Shaukat Masih and his wife, Kiran Masih, now face blasphemy charges under Section 295-B of the Pakistan Penal Code which states that defilement or desecration of the Quran is punishable with mandatory life imprisonment. Section 295-C of the Code makes insulting the Prophet punishable with mandatory life imprisonment or the maximum death penalty.

After mobs destroyed churches and homes in Jaranwala city in Punjab on 16 August, Christians had to cast aside their fears to attend Sunday church services under heavy security. The attacks occurred after two men were claimed to have torn out pages from a Quran and written insulting remarks on them. After this accusation was circulated in Jaranwala and on social media, mobs burned Bibles, tore down crosses, and looted, damaged, and set on fire 26 churches and many homes in one of the worst outbreaks of violence against Pakistan’s minority Christian community.

Hundreds who fled have now returned to their burned homes. Some say they may never feel safe again. “They are worried for their safety; they are worried for their children, who witnessed the tragedy and are traumatized,” said a local Catholic priest, Fr. Khalid Mukhtar. Kanwal, a young mother whose home was attacked and who had to flee barefoot with her newborn son, said, “We are very scared of our neighbours … we don’t want them to destroy whatever little we have left.” Another believer added, “My house is in ashes now. If the mob had so much anger, why did they burn houses and steal our belongings? Is burning the Bible not blasphemous?”

Many in Pakistan are pointing at the previously outlawed far-right Islamist political party, Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP), for instigating the mob attacks. TLP denies the allegation. Police have a list of 170 suspects and are investigating them for the violence.

The interim Chief Minister of Punjab, Syed Mohsin Naqvi, announced that Christians who lost their homes would receive 2 million rupees (US$6,800) to rebuild their lives. He said authorities have begun to repair and restore the churches to their original condition. However, Fr. Mukhtar challenged the government’s claim and said officials only visited one damaged church and did not go to the homes of anyone who suffered losses. He said that the walls of two churches were only painted, and needed rebuilding.

According to the 2017 Census, Christians make up around 1.27 percent of Pakistan’s population, and most of them reside in Punjab. There have been several cases of attacks and terrorism against them in the recent past. Accusations of blasphemy are often concocted to defame and provide a basis for attacks, in order to settle scores or personal disputes arising from family vendettas. This often leads to mob violence against the entire Christian community.

The government seems to be indifferent to these abuses of the blasphemy law and fails to hold those responsible accountable. This encourages extremists and fosters fear and insecurity among all minorities.

Prayer Points:

Please join with us in lifting the country of Pakistan to the Lord.  Please pray that God would move in a mighty way in the country:

• for the safety of believers
• that people would not make false accusations of blasphemy
• that the government would take positive action to verify accusations of blasphemy and guarantee the safety of Christians
• that people would speak up on behalf of those falsely accused
• that the blasphemy law would be changed
• that those who have had to flee their homes would find safe lodgings, and that children would be free to attend school
• the safety of women and children caught in the attacks

 

“But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.”
(Psalm 5:11 NIV)

Christians in Pakistan are fearing greater persecution after Pakistan’s National Assembly  (lower house of the federal Parliament) unanimously voted to strengthen the country’s blasphemy laws. The law, which can be used to punish those who insult the Prophet Mohammad, is now extended to include the Prophet’s wives, companions, and close relatives. Those convicted can face ten years’ imprisonment with no provision for bail, a fine of one million rupees (about US$12,000), and even a death or life sentence.

The law has often been used as a tool for persecution and discrimination. In many cases, the accused has been attacked and killed by a mob even before legal proceedings begin.

Islam is the state religion of Pakistan, which allows capital punishment for apostasy and blasphemy against the religion. Christians in Pakistan are considered second-class citizens and face discrimination in every area of public and private life.  At least 40 people are currently serving life sentences or execution for blasphemy in the country. A number of other Muslim-majority nations have capital punishment for apostasy but not blasphemy.

According to the British Asian Christian Association, Christians make up an “unhealthy percentage of blasphemy convicts and spend longer periods incarcerated than other victims of these draconian laws.” False accusations are often made against Christians in unrelated disputes, and these could lead to attacks by mobs. A famous case was that of Asia Bibi, a Catholic, who was allegedly accused of blasphemy and spent almost 10 years on death row. She left Pakistan in 2019 but is still receiving death threats. In 2011, Salman Taseer, the Governor of Punjab, was assassinated for opposing the blasphemy laws, as was Shahbaz Bhatti, the first Minister for Minorities Affairs and the only Christian in the Cabinet, for opposing the blasphemy laws and fighting for the release of Asia Bibi.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, an independent rights group, said it was deeply concerned over the latest legislation, which has yet to be approved by the Senate (upper house of the federal Parliament).  Let us lift Pakistan and our brothers and sisters there to the Lord.

Home Group Prayer:

Our Father,

Thank you for the nation of Pakistan that you love and your people there for whom you laid down your life.  At this time, we pray that you would, in your power and care, cover the country with your blood.  May your protection be over our brothers and sisters there.

We also lift up the leaders and those in power in the country, and ask that the blasphemy laws would be repealed, and that freedom of religion would be granted to all.  May your Spirit work mightily, changing hearts and turning them to you. We especially lift up the women in the country, especially those who know you, and ask that your hand of protection would be upon them. We know you are raising up leaders who are speaking up for those who are persecuted, and ask for your hand upon them.  May your kingdom come in Pakistan, and may you do more in that country than we can ever imagine.

We commit Pakistan, the believers there, and those in power into your hands, in Jesus’ name. Amen!

 “… The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”

(Hebrews 13:6 NIV)

On 30 January, two pastors in Peshawar, Pakistan were shot by two gunmen on a motorcycle in a suspected terrorist attack. Pastor William Siraj, 75, was killed and Rev. Patrick Naeem was taken to hospital but thankfully discharged without injury. They were driving home after leading a Sunday morning service.

This latest attack and a fresh wave of incidents targeting Pakistan’s Christian community have left believers fearful. So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which the police are still investigating.

Pastor Siraj’s funeral was held on 31 January at All Saints Church, the very church where on 22 September 2013 two suicide bombers had killed as many as 127 people, including an estimated 37 children, and injured a further 170.

One of the martyrs was Pastor Siraj’s son-in-law. He had been supporting his daughter in the years since her widowing, and often ministered to the families of other victims.

While Christians make up only 1.9 percent of the population, this still totals roughly 4.1 million people. Pakistan is currently eighth on the Open Doors World Watch List of countries where Christians face the most persecution. Believers not only face the threat of death and violence, but also discrimination because of blasphemy laws.

Home Group Prayer:

Father God Almighty,

We pray for our brothers and sisters in Pakistan and the persecution they are experiencing right now. We can’t imagine the fear they live under every day and ask for your Word and your everlasting peace to comfort them in the midst of this terror.

We also ask for peace and a permanent cease to any further would-be attacks on Christians in Pakistan. We ask you to change the hearts of those who seek harm and deliver them out of the darkness they live in by shining your light on them through the power of the gospel.

We pray for the family of Pastor William Siraj and all who have been victims of all these terrible attacks over the years. We ask for your comfort to envelop them in the midst of their sorrow, for your joy to be their strength, and for your love to help them forgive.

We also pray for the government and authorities of Pakistan, that they would provide protection and support to the Christian minority and stop such attacks. We ask for their hearts to be moved by compassion and for the message of the cross of Christ to be continuously preached throughout the country without fear.

Lord! Please hear our prayer. We ask it all in the name of your son, Jesus the Christ. Amen.

“Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain, at the mount that
God desired for his abode, yes, where the LORD will dwell forever?”
(Psalm 68:16)

A group of armed men in Pakistan vandalized a church in Punjab province in early May.  Police said the group desecrated a cross and demolished the gate and boundary wall of the church in Kala Shah Kaku town, some 40 km from Lahore, the provincial capital. The alleged cause was a land dispute — the group told Christians to vacate the church land, claiming it belonged to them.  Church leaders lodged a police complaint following the incident.

The incident occurred as the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan pointed out in their 2019 annual report that Christians have continued to suffer forced conversions and persecution under the country’s blasphemy law.  The report noted particular cases of forced conversion in Sindh and Punjab provinces.  In Punjab, 14-year-old girls had been forced to convert and to marry.  In Sindh, the families of two Hindu girls claimed they had been kidnapped for marriage and forced conversion.  According to human rights NGO International Christian Concern, at least 50 Christian women and girls faced this issue in 2019.

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has not reduced discrimination against Christians in Pakistan.  Authorities have apparently denied food supplies to them by claiming they were meant for Muslims.

Christians in Pakistan often face religious hatred and discrimination.  The country’s blasphemy law is controversial because it is often used to persecute Christians and other religious minorities, with consequences for their places of worship and residential areas. Blasphemy against prophets of Islam is a capital crime in Pakistan.  According to Open Doors, a mission supporting persecuted believers, Pakistani Christians are afraid to express their faith freely in case something they say is interpreted as blasphemy.  False accusations of blasphemy have led to imprisonment or even killings.

Christians constitute around two percent of the population in Pakistan.  Christian communities remain among the poorest sections of society, often do menial jobs, and are regarded as second-class citizens.  Three cities, Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, have large Christian populations.

Pakistan is currently fifth on the World Watch List, an annual report by Open Doors.  It is considered a country where extreme persecution of Christians takes place.

HOME PRAYER GROUP

Heavenly Father,

We ask your blessings for the people of Pakistan and especially for Christians who are suffering from persecution there. We pray for the church in Kala Shah Kaku and its pastor and congregation.  May they be strong when faced with violence.  We pray for those imprisoned or suffering unjustly from the blasphemy law. We pray that you will help the people who practise violence to see the light and that way is not the answer. We pray that your Holy Spirit will descend on this community and all of Pakistan and cleanse it of religious and other persecution.

Especially in these times of the coronavirus, we pray that people will come together rather than pull apart. We need your spirit of peace and strength to get through these difficult times. We pray that your Holy Spirit will help the government and people of Pakistan turn it into a country where extreme persecution no longer exists. We pray that all will work together in peace and harmony to deal with the coronavirus and all the other ills which affect the country.

Watch over your flock in Pakistan and bring them safely to a land of peace and harmony.  May your Spirit comfort them and keep them safe from persecution and the coronavirus. We need your help and guidance in all we do.

In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.