Tag: Taliban

Pakistan: ‘Attack on pastors illustrative of increasing pressure’, say Christians

February 1, 2022 Pakistan Afghanistan, All Saints Church, Pakistan, Peshawar, Quetta, Taliban, Tehreek-e-Labaik

Rev. William Siraj and Rev Patrick Naeem. (Source: Facebook page Church of Pakistan)

A Pakistani pastor was killed and another wounded Sunday in an attack outside their church in northwestern Peshawar. The two pastors were leaving the Shaheedan-e- all Saints’ Church where they had led the Sunday morning service when two men on a motorbike drove up to their car. They shot Rev. . . . Read More

40 Pakistani Christians freed after almost 5 years in prison on trial for ‘terrorism’

January 30, 2020 Pakistan Bombing, Lahore, Taliban, Youhanabad

Location where a mob burnt alive two men in angry reaction to twin church suicide bomb attacks in Youhanabad, March 2015. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Forty Pakistani Christians, who’ve been on trial for the murder of two men during a violent protest following Easter suicide attacks on two churches in Youhanabad – a majority-Christian area in Lahore – have been freed by the Lahore Anti-Terrorism Court. Two others, arrested with them, have already died, allegedly due . . . Read More

Afghanistan: Radical Islamist groups recruit at universities

August 9, 2019 Afghanistan Afghanistan, Education, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Kabul, Taliban, USA

The Taliban continues to launch deadly attacks, most recently on Wednesday in the capital Kabul where at least 15 people were killed in a suicide attack.(Photo: Getty Images)

While the Afghan government is engaged in peace talks with the hard-line Taliban movement, radical Islamist groups are spreading their ideology at universities. Basira Akhtar, a 22-year-old student, was beaten up twice earlier this year, at her university in the capital Kabul, when her headscarf slipped from her head. In . . . Read More

Afghan convert to Christianity flees, but persecution follows him

August 2, 2018 Afghanistan, Converts, Delhi, India, Kabul, Minorities, Refugees, Taliban, UN

An Indian newspaper has highlighted the story of an Afghan convert to Christianity who fled Afghanistan on account of the persecution he received for his faith, only to find that it followed him to India. “AP”, a man in his 60s who arrived in India three years ago, now lives . . . Read More

Christians matter least in Pakistani politics

July 5, 2018 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Balochistan, Blasphemy, Constitution, Elections, Imran Khan, Karachi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Lahore, Minorities, Pakistan, Pakistan Muslim League, Pakistan Peoples Party, Patras Masih, PTI, Punjab, Sajid Masih, Shahbaz Bhatti, Sindh, Taliban, Youhanabad

As Pakistan prepares for elections later this month, the country’s minorities – particularly its Christians – have expressed dismay at their lack of representation among the candidates. Among the thousands of candidates contesting hundreds of provincial and national constituencies across the country, not a single Christian is nominated by any . . . Read More

USCIRF wants 6 more countries on US Govt’s religious-freedom watch list

April 26, 2018 Global News -- No Particular Country Sam Brownback, Taliban, Ukraine, USA

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) wants six more countries to be added to the US State Department’s religious-freedom watch list. The Central African Republic, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Syria, and Vietnam should become ‘Countries of Particular Concern’ (CPCs) – a designation the US government uses to describe countries . . . Read More

Youhanabad dead remembered as Pakistan Senate wants terrorism charges dropped

March 19, 2018 Pakistan Islamic extremism, Joseph Colony, Lahore, Pakistan, Taliban, Youhanabad

A candlelit vigil on March 17, 2015, to commemorate those killed in suicide attacks on the Roman Catholic Church and Christ Church in Lahore's Youhanabad area. (Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Hundreds attended a commemoration service on Thursday, 15 March, for those killed and injured in the 2015 Easter suicide attacks on two churches in Youhanabad – the main Christian district in Lahore, Pakistan. The twin suicide bombings, which killed 17 and injured another 80, were claimed by a splinter group . . . Read More

Could Pakistan’s place on US ‘Watch List’ create more problems for minorities?

January 11, 2018 Pakistan Afghanistan, Donald Trump, Human rights, Joseph Colony, Minorities, Multan, Pakistan, Religious freedom, Taliban, USA

The US State Department last week placed Pakistan on a ‘Special Watch List’ for “severe violations of religious freedom”. The US did not, however, go as far as adding it to its ten ‘Countries of Particular Concern’* – for countries where “governments have engaged in or tolerated systematic, ongoing, and . . . Read More

Pakistan: bomb attack on Christian colony kills young boy

December 6, 2017 Pakistan Balochistan, Islamic State, Pakistan, Taliban

A seven-year-old boy and two others were killed earlier this week during a hand grenade attack on the gates of a Christian colony in Chaman, south-western Pakistan, reports UCA News. Police named the boy as Lucky Saleem. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, which came days after Taliban . . . 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

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