Within the last year, I wrote an article on the suffering Christians in Pakistan and the persecution and martyrdom they face daily. The past weeks have been hard for these wonderful people of our Lord Jesus Christ. So this weeks article is going to be a bit different. Not only was another Christian martyred, the organization Persecution.org, International Christian Concern did their monthly magazine on those in Pakistan. So this article is going to contain links to the organization’s website and all of their social media accounts.
At the bottom will be 8 links. One to my former article, one to their main page, one to their newsletter, one to their magazine, one to their prayer calendar, one to their podcast, and one to their donation information.
We speak so much today of human slavery and the need for it to end. Most of the time, sex slavery comes to mind. But modern day slavery comes in many forms. And the children of Jesus Christ are in modern day slavery around the world.
I know a few wonderful preachers and ministries in Pakistan. I want to give special honor to them before I post the the articles below. Please check out their pages. The content in them shows both the wonders of God’s glory and the evil of man’s heart.
Pastor Ravi in Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan
https://www.facebook.com/psravidaniel.daniel
Evangelist Mariam in Toba Tek Singh, Pakistan
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100073638895836
Evangelist Farah in Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100069345996262
Pastor Shakeel in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
https://www.facebook.com/shakeel.bhatti.3551
Now, Let’s get to the article. First is the news story of the latest attacks.
LAHORE, Pakistan, May 25 (Reuters) – At least 10 members of a minority Christian community were rescued on Saturday after a Muslim crowd attacked their settlement on a blasphemy accusation in eastern Pakistan, police and a community leader said.
The crowd, which accused the Christian group of blasphemy, also hurled stones and bricks at the police, said Shariq Kamal, the police chief of Sargodha district.
At least one house and a small shoe factory was set on fire by protesters who had gathered after neighbours alleged that the Muslim holy book, the Koran, had been desecrated by a minority community member, according to a police spokesman and Akmal Bhatti, a Christian leader.
“They burned one house” and several Christians were badly beaten, Bhatti said.
A large contingent of police cordoned off the settlement, Kamal said, adding that the crowd had been pushed back. One member of the Christian community who was taken to hospital was later said to be in a stable condition.
Some 25 of the protesters have been arrested, said police official Assad Malhi, adding that 11 police officers suffered injuries during the operation to rescue the Christian community members from the crowd.
The situation had calmed down by late evening, with leaders from both sides calling for peace, police said.
A Christian rights group – Minority Rights March – said a 70-year-old man accused of the blasphemy was beaten and dragged by the mob.
It said video footage showed that the police did not intervene. The police have denied the claim.
Videos posted on social media showed protesters looting items from burning properties. Others were seen throwing the items in a heap on fire in a street.
Bhatti said the videos were images from the scene.
Reuters could not independently verify the pictures.
The independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said the Christian community was “at grave risk to their lives at the hands of the charged mobs”.
Blasphemy is a sensitive subject in conservative Muslim- majority Pakistan, where just an accusation can lead to a street lynching.
Human rights groups say Pakistan’s harsh blasphemy laws are often misused to settle personal scores.
While blasphemy is punishable by death in Pakistan, no one has been executed by the state for it, though numerous accused have been lynched by outraged mobs.
A Muslim crowd attacked a Christian community in eastern Pakistan last year, vandalizing several churches and setting scores of houses on fire after accusing two of its members of desecrating the Koran.
Writing by Asif Shahzad; Editing by Mike Harrison and David Gregorio
The Store owner recently died from his injuries.
More stories of Pakistani Persecutions can be found at https://www.persecution.org/?s=&cat=64.
The system is not allowing photos to upload. Below are the links to the Persecution websites. Please read the articles on Pakistan. Also, to see my original article, follow the final link.
https://twitter.com/persecutionnews
https://www.facebook.com/persecuted
https://www.persecution.org/sign-up/
CP News and Perspective 