Blasphemy Law Wielded against Christian in Pakistan

Relatives misuse statute in personal dispute, Christian leader says.

LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – Police in Pakistan on Sunday (June 23) arrested a Christian under blasphemy laws as part of his siblings’ effort to retaliate against him over a property dispute, sources said. The arrest came the same day a key government minister admitted on the floor of the National Assembly that […]

Christian in Pakistan Jailed for Stepping on Papers in Street

Rickshaw driver was trying to protect his feet from hot road.

LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – A Catholic has been jailed under blasphemy charges since April 27 in Lahore, Pakistan for inadvertently stepping out of his rickshaw onto some papers said to be pages of the Quran, sources said. Dennis Albert, a 35-year-old rickshaw driver, was booked under one section of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws […]

Bail Granted to Suspects in Killing of Christian in Pakistan

Police deliberately obtain statements from false witnesses, attorney says.

LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – Due to sloppy police investigation and pressure from an Islamist extremist party, a judge last week granted bail to at least 52 Muslims accused of killing a Christian man over a false blasphemy accusation, sources said. Special Judge Anti-Terrorism Court Sargodha Muhammad Abbas on Thursday (June 13), granted […]

Five Christian Sanitation Workers Die in Pakistan

Relatives stage protest over lack of safety provisions.

LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – Five Christian sanitation workers in Pakistan have died since Tuesday (June 11) from inhaling toxic gases, highlighting how they are forced to work without proper safety equipment, sources said. Irfan Masih, Ratan Masih and Babar Masih succumbed on Wednesday (June 12) to the poisonous gases while cleaning […]

Abducted Young Mother in Pakistan Refuses Forced Conversion

Suspects warn family to stop efforts to prosecute.

LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – A young Catholic mother’s eyes welled up with tears and her hands shook as she recalled how a Muslim in Pakistan kidnapped her and tried to force her to convert to Islam and marry him. A 20-year-old mother of a 3-year-old girl and an 18-month old boy in […]

Massive Rally in Pakistan Backs Killing of Christian

Islamist party activists vow to lynch other ‘blasphemers.’

LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – In the wake of a mob lynching of a Christian falsely accused of defiling the Quran in Pakistan, Islamic extremists at a rally on Sunday (June 9) voiced support of the homicide and threatened others. At the rally organized by the Islamic extremist Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) in Sargodha, […]

Muslim Employer in Pakistan Tortures Christian Worker to Death

Catholic employee had quit against owner’s wishes.

LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – A Muslim factory owner in Pakistan on Thursday (June 6) tortured to death an 18-year-old Catholic worker for leaving the job against his wishes, family members said. Waqas Salamat had started working at the plastic bottle manufacturing factory owned by Haji Muhammad Saleem in Lahore’s Islampura area two […]

Pastor’s Ordeal Shows Challenges Christian Leaders Face in India

Hindu extremists continue to concoct bogus charges.

NEW DELHI (Morning Star News) – Pastor Josemon Pathrose spent nearly all of February in jail and finally got his confiscated vehicle back after four months. The harassment and criminal charges he’s endured at the hands of Hindu extremists are not uncommon in India. Pastor Pathrose and another Christian were driving back to their base in […]

Mentally Ill Catholic Woman Jailed on Blasphemy Charge in Pakistan

Those of ‘unsound mind’ cannot be tried, law states.

LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – A 60-year-old Catholic woman who has been treated for mental illness was jailed on blasphemy charges this week in Lahore, Pakistan, her son said. Jameela Khatoon was arrested on Tuesday (June 4) from her house in Lahore’s Cantonment area on a complaint of Muslim shopkeeper Asif Ali, said […]

Report Calls Sargodha, Pakistan Attack, ‘Calculated, Manipulated’

Religious fervor played key role in attack that killed Christian.

LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – The May 25 Muslim mob attack that killed a Christian in Sargodha, Pakistan was a “calculated assault, manipulated through religious fervor to gain maximum leverage,” according to a report by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP). The attack in Sargodha’s Mujahid Colony, Punjab Province led to the […]