Tag: Punjab

Asia Bibi central to trade deals, EU tells Pakistan

February 16, 2018 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Balochistan, Blasphemy, Education, Europe, Islamic extremism, Pakistan, Punjab, Rawalpindi, Sweepers

The EU’s Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, Jan Figeľ, told Pakistani officials during a recent visit that the renewal of their export privileges to Europe depends on the release of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman on death row for blasphemy since 2010. “The EU countries have started . . . Read More

Pakistan: Christian cleaner dies at work, leaving wife and two children

January 25, 2018 Pakistan Caste, Gujranwala, Karachi, Minorities, Pakistan, Pakistan Peoples Party, Punjab, Sindh, Sweepers

A Pakistani Christian, who fell ill after inhaling poisonous gasses at work, died on Saturday (20 January) after three days on a life-support machine. Shahzad Masih, 24, who leaves a wife and two young children, worked as a sewer cleaner in the Korangi area of the southern city of Karachi, . . . Read More

Indian Christian complained of threats before he was found dead

January 23, 2018 India Anti-conversion law, Beef, BJP, Hindu nationalism, India, Jammu and Kashmir, Minorities, Narendra Modi, Punjab, Tamil Nadu

The body of Rev. Gideon Periyaswamy, 43-year-old pastor of the church of Maknayeem in Adayachery village, in India’s southern Tamil Nadu state, was found hanging from the roof of his house on 20 January. Church congregation members who discovered his body described his knees bent to the floor and his . . . Read More

Adding insult to injury – Pakistani church leaders arrested, fined for ‘not putting security in place’

December 22, 2017 Pakistan Faisalabad, Lahore, Multan, Pakistan, Peshawar, Punjab, Quetta

Bishop of Multan Leo Paul with a security inspection team outside Multan Cathedral, late Dec 2017

Pakistan intelligence agencies on Tuesday (19 December) put out an alert that major parks could be targeted by suicide bombers over Christmas in Lahore, capital of Punjab province – where the largest population of Christians resides. On Sunday (17 December), two suicide bombers attacked Bethel Memorial Methodist Church in the . . . Read More

Pakistan’s anti-blasphemy protests showcase minorities’ plight

November 27, 2017 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Barelvi, Blasphemy, Gujranwala, Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Minorities, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, Mumtaz Qadri, Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan, Pakistan Muslim League, Peshawar, Prophet Muhammad, Punjab, Rawalpindi, Salmaan Taseer, Sheikhupura, Sufi, Sunni, Taliban, Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan

In November there were widespread anti-blasphemy protests in Islamabad and other cities in reaction to proposed changes to an election law. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Anti-blasphemy protests in Pakistan have once again highlighted the fragile position of the country’s religious minorities. Life in various parts of Pakistan virtually came to a halt on Saturday (25 November) after the police, paramilitary and other law enforcement agencies clashed with rioters in the capital, Islamabad, resulting in protests . . . Read More

What makes Pakistan’s small religious minorities so significant?

November 24, 2017 Pakistan Caste, Constitution, Human rights, Lahore, Minorities, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, Pakistan, Punjab

Pakistan conducted its first census in 19 years in July. All the results have now been released, except those on religious minorities. The government has provided no explanation. On 22 November a small group of protesters, mostly Christians, gathered outside the Press Club in Lahore, the major city in Pakistan’s . . . Read More

Pakistani Christians face discrimination in prisons too

November 1, 2017 Pakistan Caste, Gujranwala, Kasur, Minorities, Pakistan, Peshawar, Prisons, Punjab, Taliban

Pakistani Christians, often discriminated against because of their faith and standing as members of Pakistan’s lowest caste, find that discrimination follows them in prisons as well. The justice system is extremely slow in Pakistan and, as a result, thousands of Pakistanis languish in overcrowded jails, having yet to face trial. . . . Read More

India: Punjab police ‘not serious’ about murdered Christian

October 10, 2017 India India, Narendra Modi, Punjab

Police in India’s north-western state of Punjab dealing with the July murder of church leader Sultan Masih “are not taking the case seriously”, according to his son, Alisha. “Three months have passed since the incident and they have yet to find any concrete leads. In the name of interrogation, we . . . Read More

Pakistan Christian sentenced to death for WhatsApp ‘blasphemy’, despite gaps in police case

September 20, 2017 Pakistan Blasphemy, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Islamic extremism, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, Nadeem Masih, Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan, Prophet Muhammad, Punjab

Six days after a Pakistani Christian was sentenced to death for blasphemy, the young man’s lawyer says there was insufficient evidence against his client and that the police failed to investigate the matter properly. Nadeem Masih, 24, from the Yaqoobabad area of the religiously conservative city of Gujrat, in Punjab . . . Read More

‘Extreme negligence’ of Pakistan’s school authorities led to student’s murder

September 14, 2017 Pakistan Education, Pakistan, Punjab, Sharoon Masih, Vehari

Pakistan’s government has been severely criticised over a Christian student beaten to death by his classmates on only his second day in school, reports Catholic news agency Fides. A statement, signed by Bishop Joseph Arshad and Fr Emmanuel Yousaf, both of the Catholic Bishops’ National Justice and Peace Commission (NCJP), . . . Read More

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