Pakistan: New government must protect Christians

As Pakistan emerges from its national elections, UK-based Release International calls on the new government to repeal the country's notorious blasphemy laws and prevent forced conversions.

A major task facing the President, sworn in yesterday (March 10), and the newly elected prime minister, will be to calm the simmering violence against its Christian minority that led to church burnings in Jaranwala after cries of blasphemy.

"There is growing concern over violence against Christians in Pakistan, often by vigilante mobs on unfounded accusations that Christians have committed blasphemy," says Paul Robinson, CEO of Release International, which serves persecuted Christians worldwide.

"We call on President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to repeal the blasphemy laws which are being used to justify persecution."

Simmering violence

Violence erupted last August when a Muslim mob attacked a Christian community in Jaranwala. They torched more than 20 church buildings and Christian homes, after mosque loudspeakers claimed torn pages of the Koran had been found in the Christian district.

Thousands of protestors armed with sticks were finally restrained by the army. But only after setting fire to churches, including the Salvation Army, United Presbyterian Church, Allied Foundation Church, and Saint Paul Catholic Church.

Release International's partner in Pakistan says when the Christians of Jaranwala heard the call to attack over mosque loudspeakers they fled to save their lives.

Months later, many Christians are still awaiting their promised compensation. The Christian community in Jaranwala say the mob damaged 146 houses, while a government report insists only 80 were affected. The government has paid out compensation to just 76.

Although up to 800 people took part in the attacks, which they filmed and distributed on social media, only 283 suspects have been arrested. Of those, more than 220 have been granted bail and 14 discharged.

Appeal to Supreme Court

Pakistan's Implementation of Minority Rights Forum (IMRF) has appealed to the country's Supreme Court for justice.

Its chairman, Samuel Makson, told Morning Star News (MSN): "Videos collected from different sources have not resulted in action against the perpetrators."

Akmal Bhatti, a Faisalabad lawyer and chairman of the Minorities Alliance Pakistan (MAP), told MSN: "There are hundreds of videos in which the faces of the perpetrators are easily identifiable. However, the police [failed to] positively identify the culprits. Nor did they make any effort to substantiate the evidence against them."

An NGO, Christians True Spirit (CTS), which provides legal aid to victims, said the police have played a detrimental role in the pursuit of justice. CTS alleged: "They intimidated and humiliated the complainants and witnesses, deterring some from even identifying the detained suspects."

Schoolboy killed

There have been growing numbers of attacks against Christians in Pakistan, as intolerance continues to rise.

On February 5, six Muslim gunmen on motorcycles opened fire at two schoolboys, killing one. Sunil Masih was 14 years old. The attack took place in the Gujranwala district of Punjab.

According to the boys' uncle, who was present, one of the attackers shouted: "No Christian in the area should be left alive," before shooting the boy in the chest. Another child was grazed by a bullet. They managed to take cover behind a wall.

The Revd Neuman Matto of Gondalanwala Presbyterian Church described the murder as being religiously motivated. He told Morning Star News: "In May 2023, some Muslim youths disrupted a marriage ceremony of Christians and attacked a church."

Had the police acted at the time, he said this latest attack would have been prevented and the child would not have died.

Medical student killed

Earlier in November, a 20-year-old Christian medical student was shot in his home by a gunman who held the family hostage for nearly 40 minutes, claiming that they were Jews. He refused to let the family tend their wounded son, Farhan Ul Qamar, who was struggling for his life and bleeding profusely. He later died.

As well as false accusations of blasphemy, concern is growing over forced conversions.

In Sailkot district, a Muslim cleric stands accused of abducting two Christian brothers at gunpoint and beating them with iron rods to make them to convert to Islam.

Under threat of death, the cleric made them to recite the Kalima, the declaration of Islamic conversion, MSN was told.

The brothers were forced to record a video statement saying they were converting to Islam of their own free will. Police later arrested the Muslim cleric.

'Prevent forced conversions'

"Release International calls on Pakistan's new government to take immediate action to prevent forced conversions," says Paul Robinson. 'We also call on Pakistan to address the growing culture of intolerance and impunity, which is resulting in attacks against Christians on false charges of blasphemy.

According to Pakistan's Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), 12 per cent of those accused of blasphemy since 1987 were Christians, even though Christians make up less than two per cent of the population.

"A disproportionate number of Christians are charged with blasphemy. Release International calls, and will continue to call, on Pakistan to repeal those unjust laws," says Paul Robinson.

Pakistan's blasphemy laws are often invoked as a way of inciting violence against minorities and to settle scores. Even when individuals are acquitted, their lives may still be in jeopardy.

In December, a Christian widow and a Muslim gardener were charged with desecrating pages of the Koran as they were cleaning a storeroom at a secondary School for Girls in Punjab.

Musarrat Bibi was hauled into the headmistress's office and accused of offending their religious sentiments by burning pages of the Koran.

She told Morning Star News: "I had no idea of what she and the other teachers were accusing me of, but despite my repeated pleas, some teachers pushed me out into the open, where I was besieged by students and local villagers."

She began to pray silently, asking Christ to give her courage.

"Timely intervention of the police saved my life, otherwise God knows what they would have done to me," she told MSN.

Even though Musarrat was acquitted, the school has refused to allow her to return to her job. Death threats followed. Musarrat had to flee her home along with her daughter and go on the run, constantly changing locations to avoid being found.

She said: "This false accusation has ruined my life, forcing me to seek refuge in different locations."

According to the Lahore-based Centre for Social Justice, 2,449 people from various faith backgrounds have been accused of committing blasphemy since 1987. Of these, at least 95 have been killed by vigilantes.

"These stark figures make plain the climate of intimidation and violence in Pakistan," says Paul Robinson of Release International. "Our partners are working to support persecuted believers in Pakistan - including some who've been falsely accused of blasphemy - and the Christian victims of violence in Jaranwala."

RI's partners have provided emergency aid in Jaranwala and have called on leading politicians and police officers to take action against the attackers and to protect the Christian minority.

Pakistan features as a country of growing concern in Release International's 2024 Persecution Trends report.

Release International is active in some 30 countries. It works through partners to provide prayerful, pastoral, and practical support for the families of Christian martyrs. It supports prisoners of faith and their families, Christians suffering oppression and violence, and those forced to flee.

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Release International: https://releaseinternational.org/