Persecution of Christians in Pakistan

By Asim Qadeer Rana

A report submitted to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif claims that all the culprits involved in torturing and burning to death a Christian couple have been apprehended, it is learnt.

In the latest example of mob violence against minorities, a Christian bonded worker couple was burned to death by the mob in the tiny village of Chak 59 near Kot Radha Kishan town, 60 kilometres southwest of Lahore.

Shama Bibi, 24, and Sajjad Maseeh, 27, her husband, were killed for alleged blasphemy. Christian couple was locked in brick-making factory after their boss thought they would flee debts. It provided an opportunity to the mob to beat them, tear off their clothes and throw them onto a brick kiln. According to reports, Shama Bibi, a mother of four who was four months pregnant, was wearing clothes that did not at first catch fire, so the mob removed her from over the kiln and wrapped her up in cotton to make sure the material would burn faster. The killings were sparked by misusing blasphemy law. By the time the attack was over, only charred bones and the couple’s discarded shoes remained. The killing has sparked protests by Christians and outrage among rights activists, while police have arrested 44 suspects. According to the police when Shehzad’s father, a local religious healer died, Shehzad’s wife went to his room , cleaned the mess and threw the trash in front of her house. The garbage collector collected the trash the next day and told a local cleric that he had collected pages of the Holy Quran thrown in front of Shehzad’s house from the trash. Brick kiln workers are often subject to harsh practices. Bonded Labor Liberation Front Pakistan estimates there are 4.5 million bonded workers in the country. Christians are visibly rattled over the latest incident and still remember the Joseph Colony disaster in Lahore where an unruly mob had set ablaze the houses of the Christians, besides reducing their belongings to mere ashes. They have not erased the memories of the incident when the prayer leader of a mosque was arrested by police on charges of fabricating the evidence that he had used to accuse a 14-year old Christian girl Rimsha Masih of blasphemy. Poor Rimsha Masih could have faced death, but a timely testimony from an eye-witness in her favor and against the prayer leader saved her from going to the gallows. Religious minorities like the Hindus, Sikhs, etc, have already voiced grave concern, and so have their sympathizers over the failure of successive Pakistani regimes to protect the rights of minorities in a country where over 2.9 million followers of seven different faiths, besides Islam, are living together. The history of persecution of Christians in Pakistan is of relatively recent vintage. Just 15 years ago, a Christian, Ayub Masih was the first to be convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to death. Though the lower court had upheld Ayub’s conviction, his lawyer was able to prove before the Supreme Court that the accuser had used the conviction to force Masih’s family off their land and then acquired control of the property. Masih was resultantly released. On October 28, 2001, an attack on a Protestant church in Bahawalpur had resulted in 16 deaths. The casualties were all Christian worshippers except a policeman. This was the worst ever attack on Pakistani Christians till that time. On March 17 the same year, an attack on a Protestant church in Islamabad’s Diplomatic Enclave killed five, including a US diplomat’s wife and daughter. OnAugust 9, three nurses — and an attacker — were killed in an attack on a church in Taxila’s Christian Hospital. In August 2002, gunmen stormed a Christian missionary school for foreigners in Islamabad, killing six. On September 25, a Christian welfare organization “Peace and Justice Institute” was attacked in Karachi. The attackers tied seven office workers to their chairs before shooting each in the head. On December 25, assailants threw a grenade at a Presbyterian church near Sialkot, killing three young girls on Christmas.

In November 2005, Roman Catholic, Salvation Army and United Presbyterian churches were attacked at Sangla Hill (near Lahore). The attack was over allegations of violation of blasphemy laws by a local Christian, Yousaf Masih. On June 5, 2006, a Pakistani Christian, Nasir Ashraf, was working near Lahore when he drank water from a public facility. He was assaulted by the locals for his ‘sin.’ A mob developed and thrashed Ashraf. In August 2007, a Christian missionary couple, Reverend Arif and Kathleen Khan, were gunned down in Islamabad. In August 2009, six Christians were burnt alive and a church set ablaze in Gojra. On March 2, 2011, Shahbaz Bhatti, the only Christian minister in the Pakistan government, was mowed down for opposing the blasphemy law. Then is the case of a Pakistani Christian Safdar Masih, who was allegedly shot to death in Pakistan on October 6, 2011 for defying the local land mafia’s “order”. The local Church had bought some land to build an orphanage, but the local land mafia had laid claim to it. The police were vehemently criticized for giving protection to criminal elements in the country and for turning a blind eye to the plight of the Christians in minority.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/national/13-Nov-2014/persecution-of-christians-in-pakistan