LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are being systematically misused to target religious minorities, dispossess the poor and settle personal and economic disputes, according to a new Human Rights Watch (HRW) report. Blasphemy accusations are increasingly weaponized to incite mob violence, displace vulnerable communities and seize their property with impunity, states […]
Blasphemy Laws Misused to Seize Religious Minorities’ Property in Pakistan: HRW
Vulnerable communities displaced.
Christian Falsely Charged with Blasphemy in Pakistan Is Acquitted
28-year-old entrapped in false complaint.
LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – A judge in Pakistan on Thursday (June 12) acquitted a Christian of blasphemy and terrorism charges after the prosecution failed to prove its case against him, his lawyer said. Attorney Kashif Nemat said that Sahiwal District and Sessions Judge Zia Ullah Khan, who also presides over the anti-terrorism […]
Court in Pakistan Acquits Muslims Accused in Jaranwala Attacks
Attorney cites defective police investigation.
LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – Defective police investigation resulted in the acquittal of 10 Muslims involved in burning a church building and ransacking a Christian’s home during the Aug. 16, 2023 riots in Jaranwala, Pakistan, an attorney said. Despite strong evidence against them, Faisalabad Anti-Terrorism Judge Javed Iqbal Sheikh on Wednesday (June 4) […]
Churches Targeted on Easter in India Remain Closed
Landlord pressured into refusing congregation use of building.
NEW DELHI (Morning Star News) – More than a month after Hindu nationalist groups in India targeted two Christian congregations on Easter, the churches remain shut while awaiting police action, sources said. The Hindu extremists intimidated congregation members and leaders at both churches in the western coastal state of Gujarat, and one of the churches was […]
Bill to Curb Child Marriages Signed into Law in Pakistan
Proponents overcome fierce opposition from Islamists.
LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – Despite fierce opposition from Islamist groups in Pakistan, President Asif Ali Zardari on late Thursday night (May 29) signed into law a landmark bill to curb child marriage, setting the minimum age for marriage for both genders at 18 years in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT). “The Islamabad […]
Bill Criminalizing Child Marriage in Pakistan Rejected as ‘Un-Islamic’
Council of Islamic Ideology opposes legislation passed by parliament.
LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – Pakistan’s top Islamic body on Tuesday (May 27) rejected a bill that seeks to criminalize child marriages in Islamabad, describing it as “un-Islamic.” The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) also declared a similar bill presented by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provincial government to be in conflict with sharia (Islamic […]
Muslim in Pakistan Gets Custody of Kidnapped Christian Girl
Judge ignores evident coercion behind victim’s statement of conversion.
LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – A judge in Pakistan on May 16 handed custody of a Catholic girl to the Muslim who kidnapped and forcibly married her despite evidence that she was coerced into stating she converted to Islam, her father said. “My daughter Jessica Iqbal couldn’t recite the Kalima [Islamic conversion proclamation] […]
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 […]
Muslims Torture Christian to Death in Pakistan, Brother Says
Accused former police officer arrested.
LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – Muslims in Pakistan, including a former police officer, on Monday (May 12) tortured a Christian laborer to death over a theft accusation, the victim’s brother said. Riyasat Masih of Mohalla Jamalpur in Jamkay Cheema village, Sialkot District, Punjab Province, said that his brother Kashif Masih, a 35-year-old Catholic, […]