Forcibly Converted/Married Christian Girl Returned to Parents

Kidnapper in Pakistan leaves 15-year-old four months pregnant.

LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – A kidnapped Christian girl in Pakistan reunited with her parents on Wednesday (May 21), five months after a Muslim abducted her, forcibly converted/married her and got her pregnant due to repeated sexual assault, her lawyer said. Attorney Hanif Hameed said the 15-year-old girl was abducted from her aunt’s […]

Bill to Curb Child Marriages Passes Parliament in Pakistan

Opposition terms it ‘un-Islamic.’

LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – Pakistan’s parliament on Monday (May 19) passed a significant bill aiming to curb, discourage and eventually eradicate child marriages in the federal capital by raising the legal age of marriage for both boys and girls to 18 years. Sharmila Faruqui of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) introduced the […]

Christian Parents Regain Custody of Three Girls in Pakistan

In rare case, judge allows children to talk with parents.

LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – Three girls illegally detained by their employers were forced to testify that they had converted to Islam and wished to return to their captors, but a judge in Pakistan returned them to their Christian parents, sources said. Justice Shakil Ahmed of the Lahore High Court on Thursday (Aug. […]

Pakistan Told to Address Forced Marriages, Conversions of Girls

Christians and those of other minority religions are vulnerable.

LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – U.N. human rights experts on Thursday (April 11) called on Pakistan to make legal changes in light of continued vulnerability of women and girls of minority faiths to forced marriages and religious conversions. The U.N. special rapporteurs demanded Pakistan raise the legal age for girls to marry to […]

At Least 31 Christians Slaughtered in Central Nigeria

Islamic extremists raid two counties in Plateau state, residents say.

ABUJA, Nigeria (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – Fulani herdsmen and other terrorists attacked villages in Plateau state, Nigeria at about 12:30 a.m. today (Jan. 24), killing at least 25 Christians, following the deaths of six others last week, area residents said. Thousands of people were displaced in the attacks in Mangu County that began on […]

Muslim Allegedly Kills His Mother for Accepting Christ

Convert described assault before succumbing to injuries.

NAIROBI, Kenya (Morning Star News) – Before Sawuba Naigaga succumbed to injuries her 25-year-old son inflicted on her in Uganda this month, she described the assault to a friend from her hospital bed. The friend said Naigaga’s son, Ashirafu Basalirwa, returned home to Busia town, Busia District from four years of working in Saudi Arabia on […]

Kidnapped Pastor Killed in Nigeria after Ransom Payment

Church paid 1 million naira for his release.

ABUJA, Nigeria (Morning Star News) – A pastor kidnapped on Saturday (Nov. 11) in Nigeria’s central state of Kogi was killed on Tuesday (Nov. 14) after church members paid a ransom for his release, sources said. The Rev. David Musa of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) in the Obajana area, Lokoja County, had been kidnapped […]

Arson Suspected in Church Fire in Pakistan

Threatening letter left at front gate.

(Church elder Zubair Akhtar Khokhar confessed to setting the fire of the Gulberg Presbyterian Church in Lahore after police arrested him following the publication of this story, which follows in its original form. The updated story was published on Nov. 20, 2023)) LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – A church building was set on fire in […]

Christian Couple Accused of Blasphemy Win Bail in Pakistan

Police show undue haste in filing case, attorney says.

LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – A court in Lahore, Pakistan on Wednesday (Oct. 18) granted bail to a Christian couple arrested last month on blasphemy charges, a rare occurrence in a country where falsely accused suspects spend years in jail awaiting verdicts. Zahid Nazeer, attorney for Shaukat Masih and his wife Kiran Shaukat, said Additional […]

Young Woman in Uganda Killed after Accepting Christ

Muslim stepmother suspected of poisoning her.

NAIROBI, Kenya (Morning Star News) – A 23-year-old Muslim woman in eastern Uganda who converted to Christianity on Sept. 18 was poisoned to death that night, sources said. Namata Habiiba attended a church service on Sept. 18 at the invitation of a friend in Wakawaka village, Bugiri District and put her faith in Christ, the friend […]