Pakistan: Church destroyed; 5,000 Christian families faces eviction

A large group of Muslim extremists has destroyed a church that was under construction in Okara, Punjab Pakistan. The walls of the church had been completed, on land donated by a local Christian resident, Akber Masih. When a cross was placed in front of the main gate of the small construction yard a mob arrived with bulldozers and demolished the building.

The faithful filed a complaint to the police, but the NGO 'Sharing Life Ministries Pakistan', said the perpetrators have not been arrested - thanks to the political influence they have. Christians in the neighbourhood who have asked for protection to civil authorities, on the other hand, have received threats and have now abandoned the idea of building a church.

Elsewhere, in the capital, Islamabad, more than 5,000 Christian families who have lived for years in overcrowded slum conditions, with no piped water or sanitation now face homelessness, as a High Court judge has ordered the demolition of ten settlements. Christian leaders are asking the municipality to think about some form of accommodation for them.

Source: Fides