In the midst of political and social turmoil in neighbouring Pakistan, from the town of Faisalabad comes a ray of hope. With Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, and the season of Lent overlapping, Christians and Muslims have been provided a special opportunity to come together this year in Pakistan. Every year, the Catholic Diocese of […]
Human rights observers say that every year as many as 1,000 mostly Christian and Hindu girls and young women in Pakistan are raped and subjected to forced conversions and marriages to Sunni Muslim men. As a result, Pakistan is designated as a “Country of Particular Concern” on the U.S. Department of State’s Religious Freedom Report. […]
Though Christians are beaten, persecuted, attacked again and again, they have not lost hope, stated Christian human rights activist Asif Bastian, from The Voice of Justice group. He said Christians are ‘repeatedly attacked by Islamic fanatics and criminals with impunity’. Civil society groups in Pakistan called for an end to ‘unabated attacks on people belonging […]
Archbishop Joseph Arshad was installed as Bishop of Islamabad-Rawalpindi Diocese in Pakistan’s Northern Province on Sunday, Feb. 10. He replaces Bishop Rufin Anthony who died in October 2016. Archbishop Arshad had previously been bishop of Faisalabad and was conferred by the pope with the personal title “archbishop” when he was transferred to Islamabad-Rawalpindi Diocese on […]
A Pakistani University will be the first to house a Catholic church and has allotted one square kilometre for its construction, a brave move given the many reports of intolerance against religious minorities in that country. While most Pakistani universities host mosques, UAF will be the first to allow a Christian house of prayer on […]
An estimated 1,000 young Christian and Hindu girls, most of them underage and impoverished, are taken from their homes each year, converted to Islam and married, according to a report by the NGO South Asia Partnership. More than two million Pakistanis live as “modern slaves”, according to the 2016 Global Slavery Index, which ranks Pakistan […]
KARACHI – Sindh province has passed a law against forced conversions, much to the relief of Hindus and Christians in this Pakistani province. A Pakistan province on Thursday (Nov 24) passed a law making “forced conversions” punishable with a life sentence and forbidding minors from changing their religion, a bid to protect minorities in the […]
The Archbishop of Lahore has expressed hope that Asia Bibi may get justice saying: “We’re all praying and hoping that she will get justice and be released. The case against her is very weak and fragile…” He said this during his tour to the UK which was intended to highlight the plight of persecuted Christians. […]
Pakistan has banned 11 Christian television channels, after the country’s TV regulatory body declared them illegal in September. The move has left the country’s 2.8 million Christian residents with no public media presence, according to a report in express.co.uk. Observers have called the move a blow to religious freedom. The Pakistani Media Regulatory Authority had […]
ISLAMABAD – A Pakistani Christian teen has been charged with blasphemy over a ‘derogatory picture’ of Islam’s holiest place, according to an AFP report. Nabeel Chohan was arrested for liking and sharing on social media a disparaging photograph of the Kaaba, the building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, that Muslims turn and pray to five times […]
How do the poor minorities fare in Pakistan? Can they expect justice from the local police? Here is an incident that will help you form your own opinion: A fourteen year old Pakistani boy was found murdered and hanging from a tree (after having been raped, say locals) in a rural area of Pakistan. Interestingly, […]
