In Depth:  British Pakistani Christian Association

A married woman was abducted at gunpoint and forced into marriage to a Muslim man, it was reported in mid-March.

Saima Iqbal’s husband Naveed Iqbal reported the incident as soon as it happened, but the police collaborated with the kidnappers and did not file a report on the incident until a week later. The police only filed the First Information Report (FIR) when Naveed and his children threatened to set themselves on fire in protest.

Two incendiary devices, which exploded at a Roman Catholic cathedral in southern Philippines on 27 January 2019, killed 20 people and injured dozens more.

Hours after the attack Islamic State (IS) confirmed that they were responsible for the attack on Jolo Island, a place known for activity from several jihadists groups.

Sources have confirmed that Asia Bibi and her family are safe and are no longer having to move constantly to escape the many Muslims irate at her release.

She cannot move out of Pakistan until the Supreme Court has heard the petition challenging her acquittal. She and her husband spent Christmas together in a secret safe location, where they were afforded the best protection that Pakistani security forces could offer. Although this has its own limitations and weaknesses, supporters are encouraged to keep Asia Bibi and Ashiq Masih in prayer and trust God will keep them safe. Concerns exist about previous failures by security details for Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, Federal Minister Shahbaz Bhatti and Punjab Governor Salman Taseer.

As concerns have been raised about the onset of dementia for Asia Bibi, a group of Christians took part in a charity run in mid-September to raise awareness of the plight of Asia and millions of other Christians faced with persecution in Pakistan.

The gathering was organised by a new Pakistani Christian advocacy group named ‘Masih Overseas’, the first of their kind in Switzerland. They were seeking help with their first public campaign to make the nation of Switzerland aware of the plight of Pakistani Christians. Initially a plan was organised for a protest, but after a rethink it was agreed that the group would organise a charity run within Greifenseelauf 2018, a 21km race close to the International Day of Peace declared by the UN.

Hundreds of people were injured during violent clashes between Muslim refugees on 19 December, at the Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesvos.

According to Twitter and Facebook reports from some of the 5,500 refugees and asylum seekers placed on the island, clashes erupted between Arab, Afghan and Iraqi refugees.

Two Islamist terrorists attacked the Sunday morning service at Bethel Memorial Methodist Church in Quetta on 17 December, killing nine Christians (including women and children), who died at the church or in hospital from their injuries, and injuring more than 60 others.

Many lives were saved by two courageous men who held back the attackers at the church gates. Realising that they were about to be attacked, Sultan Masih (aged 36) quickly locked the gates and warned others to get into the church building. He was joined in facing the terrorists by another man, 63-year-old George Masih (not related to Sultan). A second after he locked the gates, the first terrorist arrived. It took the terrorists 82 seconds to climb the gate and get in, thus giving valuable time to the believers to take cover. George can be seen on the CCTV before the terrorists jump down. Both Sultan and George were killed, but their tremendous bravery in facing the terrorists alone saved many other lives.

A family of five in the State of Haryana in Northern India is struggling to make ends meet as winter approaches, after refusing to give up their Christian faith at the behest of their husband and father, it was reported in early December.

Ramesh Kumar, a Hindu, is scandalised by his family coming to faith in Jesus Christ. This is a common response to conversion in India, where changing one’s faith from Hinduism is abhorred and can lead to extreme violence. In many States anti-conversion laws exists.

Two Hindus and a Christian from Dunga Bunga, Bhawalnagar, Pakistan were accused of committing a blasphemy by burning a Qur’an on 28 September.

Bhola Ram (50 yrs), Vishal Tariq (16 yrs), and Adil Masih (25 yrs) all worked as cleaners, and Bhola Ram had been given a free home on the compound of a vet’s practice due to his long years of service.

Over four days in September, a Christian medical team served over 300 victims of the Karachi flood, many of whom were found to have been affected by water contaminated by overflowing sewage and rife with waterborne disease.

Two cities were visited, Essa Nagri and Malir Cantt, and very similar medical conditions were detected in both regions. Two doctors and four nurses helped serve the constant flow of people interested in a medical check or treatment for illness.

A Christian teenager, who was highly academic despite years of institutional peer bullying and discrimination, was killed by Muslim pupils in Vehari District in the Punjab on 27 August.

The violence, which took place in his classroom, was of such a ferocity that Sharoon died in the room. Early pupil reports suggest that the teacher overseeing the class ignored the brutal mauling.

The British Pakistani Christian Association (BPCA) learned from Pakistani-Christian asylum seekers at the infamous Moira Camp on the island of Lesbos that clashes broke out for the second time in eight days.

Greek authorities arrested 35 migrants on 18 July for public disturbance offences – during the riots, police were forced to use tear gas against protesters who were throwing large stones at them. Muslim rioters also set fire to tents. There are very few Christian asylum seekers at Moria Camp, as most of them flee the island as soon as an opportunity arises.

A 21-year-old Christian man was allegedly assaulted and burnt with hot iron rods by the family of a Muslim woman for ‘befriending’ her, it was reported in early April.

Ansar Masih first established contact with Jameela Bibi two years ago and their friendship grew over time. They often spoke over the phone and Masih would also visit the woman’s neighbourhood to meet her.

A Christian man aged 51 was sentenced to life imprisonment for allegedly sending out blasphemous texts in Pakistan in early May.

Campaigners say there’s no evidence that allows for the Lahore High Court’s decision.

A Pakistani Christian woman who escaped her rapist and abductor and was then returned to her persecutors by her family, has won her freedom through the Pakistani law courts in April.

Fouzia Bibi was abducted on 23 July 2015 while cleaning the home of her family’s slave-master. She managed to escape. The British Pakistani Christian Association (BPCA) urged the UNHCR and Western nations to provide Fouzia with asylum. Sadly, no assistance was offered.

Police are refusing to investigate the murder of a Christian man shot dead whilst driving his rickshaw in the city of Kasur on 8 February.

Shahzad Masih (25) took a call from two men whom he was to transport to a pilgrimage site at the tomb of a Sufi saint. He never returned home from this journey.

One of the two sisters brutally gang-raped by three young Muslim men at gunpoint in Jaranwala, Pakistan, during November 2014, was married to a loving Christian husband on 20 December 2016.

In a country where perceived dishonour and shame can destroy lives and make pariahs of rape victims, young Sehrish has found a husband who totally adores her and has been welcomed into a family of committed Christians. Her husband and his family accept her innocence and the restoration of her body through the healing spirit of Christ. Her new husband and his brothers are all ushers at their local church and Sehrish’s mother-in-law is a key figure in the women’s ministry at her church.

The leader of a Chinese Christian charity who has been providing support for internally displaced people within Iraq for the last five years, has started building a safe-house for ten abuse victims, it was reported in December.

After learning about the safe-houses in Pakistan built by the British Pakistani Christian Association, the Chinese Christians sought advice for the growing number of women under their care who had escaped the clutches of the rapists they had been sold to.

A Christian teacher was told to convert to Islam or die after he infuriated Muslim teachers with his campaign to stop their hate preaching, but, with the help of a British organisation, it is hoped he will start teaching in a school for formerly enslaved children by 2017.

Musa Atique (43 years) was employed for seven years as a primary school teacher. Changes to the curriculum to include compulsory learning of the Qur’an and Islamic prayers meant some zealous teachers began using the opportunity of these new learning directives to teach hatred towards minority children, especially Christians.

Teacher beaten

Two began inciting hatred during the Qur’anic study and Islamic prayer morning assemblies. Mr Atique overheard them using terms such as kafir (infidel). Children were being mistreated and Mr Atique, after discussing this with the head teacher, was beaten in front of other students by some staff.

A 16-year-old boy, Nabeel Masih, was arrested and had further allegations of cyber crime made against him in September due to someone else posting religiously offensive material on his Facebook page.

He faces death, his family have been attacked by a mob and have been forced into hiding. Nabeel has also been tortured and beaten by the police and, even if he is not convicted, he faces being killed by violent extremists in a nation where he has already been marked out as worthy of death.

After inadvertently contracting themselves into slavery after taking a loan to pay for their daughter’s marriage, a family have been rescued from the brick kiln work that was a Christian slave compound by a team of people in the early autumn.

In a contract signed by a thumbprint, Razzak Masih’s loan of 50,000 rupees became a debt of 150,000 rupees. He was forced to leave his job and found himself working in the brutal brink kilns of Kasur. He declined offers to sell his daughters to reduce the loan size.

Pakistani Christians have expressed joy and fear on news that Asia Bibi, Pakistan’s most famous blasphemy-law victim will finally have her long-awaited Supreme Court appeal heard during the second week of October.

Asia Bibi was brutally beaten after drinking water from a well that was specifically for the use of Muslims in highly discriminatory Pakistan.

A Christian in Pakistan had his arms chopped off with an axe for refusing to convert to Islam, it was reported in July.

But it is believed that his attackers are unlikely to face justice due to pro-Islamic bias. On 24 June, Aqueel Mashi was working at a petrol pump when two Muslim men asked him to go with them to their town for minor repairs on another vehicle. The men hacked off his arms during an ensuing argument – Mr Mashi was taken to hospital and was unconscious on arrival.

American and British charities were collaborating to ensure the release of a Pakistani Christian asylum seeker from Thailand’s notorious Immigration Detention Centre (IDC) in July.

Noshad Young was seeking medical treatment and had been deteriorating over the past month. Refugee sources reported that he had been unable to eat for days, had blisters in his mouth and was suffering from continuous anal discharge.

A Christian girl was killed in January after she and two friends shrugged off the advances of young drunken Muslim men from one of the elite areas of Lahore, Defence Colony.

Kiran (17), Shamroza (18) and Sumble (20) were walking home after a hard day’s work, on their way to their deprived Christian community in Baowala. They had set off at 9 pm on 13 January to get home quickly before it got too unsafe. However, they were accosted by four allegedly drunk Muslims in a car, who harassed them to get into the car for ‘a ride and some fun’.

A campaign has been relaunched to find Alison MacDonald, who went missing 30 years ago on the border of India and Pakistan.

Alison’s family have never given up hope of finding their daughter alive, despite the length of time that has passed, as they believe that a vision her father the Revd Kenny MacDonald had of meeting his daughter will come to fruition.

In late September, the Pakistani Army started warning Christians, churches and other Christian institutions in Pakistan that they are likely to face a wave of attacks from ISIS soon.

Reports for some time have been emerging of the progress ISIS is making in Pakistan, drawing the allegiance of many from existing extremist groups such as the Taliban. Apparently the Pakistani military has been purging IS sympathisers from its ranks and is contemplating further military action against extremist strongholds near the Afghanistan border. On occasion, depending on the political situation and orientation, the Pakistani army has intervened against extremists to protect Christians.

Reports in June from the family of Asia Bibi suggest the mother of five is now suffering from intestinal bleeding and requires urgent medical treatment.

The 50-year-old Pakistani Christian women is being held on death row for alleged blasphemy, a charge she vehemently denies, after being accused of insulting the Prophet Muhammad. She has been described by her family as ‘so weak she can hardly walk’.

The December decision of the Dutch government to designate Pakistani Christians as a ‘risk group’ was welcomed by The Middle East Forum for Development (MEFD).

MEFD and the British Pakistani Christian Association (BPCA) played a significant role in promoting legislation. MEFD organised a special hearing in this regard last March at the Dutch House of Representatives in collaboration with BPCA. The hearing focused on the potential for special status for Pakistani Christians and called upon Dutch MPs to take necessary measures in order to make the asylum process for Pakistani Christians more bearable in the Netherlands. The meeting further highlighted the issues of persecution and discrimination of people of various faiths and cultural identities in Pakistan.

Being a Pakistani girl and being a Christian Pakistani girl is not an easy deal – trust me!

Why is there such a price to pay, simply for a choice of belief? I find it derisory that a state counts the protection of humanity for little or nothing, a state which is so frightened by Christians – a tiny minority who may seem odd, but who never pose any threat or give any genuine offence to anyone.