Lay Pastor Slain, Priest Wounded in Northwestern Pakistan

Unknown gunmen attack them on street in Peshawar.

LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – A Church of Pakistan lay pastor was gunned down and a priest wounded by unknown assailants as the leaders drove home from a worship service on Sunday (Jan. 30) in the northwestern Pakistan city of Peshawar, sources said. Church of Pakistan Bishop of Peshawar Humphrey Peters said that William Siraj, […]

Hostility toward Christians Grows in District in Northern India

Attacks can happen in home worship or shopping for groceries.

HYDERABAD, India (Morning Star News) – Intense opposition to Christianity grew in an area of northern India in the past month as a Hindu mob invited news media to record them reviling a house church gathering, and another pastor and his family were driven from their home, sources said. Intending to stir public sentiment against Christians, […]

Another Christian Girl Allegedly Forced to Convert/Marry

Family of 14-year-old says Muslim neighbor kidnapped her.

LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – The abduction and forced conversion of Christian girls in Pakistan continued with impunity as another minor was separated from her parents the first week of the year, sources said. Mahnoor Ashraf, a 14-year-old Pentecostal Christian, went missing shortly after leaving her home in Lahore’s Cantonment area for a nearby shop […]

Young Christian Family Forms amid Persecution in Nepal

Couple driven together by Hindu hostility toward their faith.

NEW DELHI (Morning Star News) – A young father knows the intensity of Hindu opposition to Christianity in his native Nepal – it temporarily took his newborn son from him and has left his young family homeless for nearly two years. Having moved in with his parents after the birth of his son, Pawan (surname withheld […]

Christian’s Prison Term Changed to Death Sentence in Pakistan

Separately, historic bail granted to blasphemy suspect.

LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – A judge changed a Christian’s life prison term under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws into the death sentence last week, while the Pakistan Supreme Court granted historic bail to another Christian held on similar charges, sources said. Zafar Bhatti, 56, who has languished in jail since 2012 after being accused of sending […]

Hindu Nationalists Stop Christmas Services in Northern India

Extremists spoil celebrations of Christ’s birth throughout Haryana state.

NEW DELHI, India (Morning Star News) – Hindu extremists in northern India launched an attack on a house church service on Dec. 25 that seriously injured a pastor’s son, one of at least 10 cases of aggression in Haryana state that stopped Christmas celebrations for hundreds of Christians. Pastor J.J. Singh, a Christian leader in Haryana […]

Hindu Extremists Attack Christian-Run School in India

Glass shatters in assault fueled by false report on YouTube.

NEW DELHI (Morning Star News) – Incited by false information on YouTube, a mob of hundreds of Hindu extremists last month threw stones that smashed through the glass of a Christian-run school in Madhya Pradesh, India where 12th-grade students were taking critical exams, sources said. Shouting Hindu nationalist slogans like Jai Shri Ram (Victory to Lord […]

Christian Refugees Describe Fears in Leaving Afghanistan

Uncertainty reigns as they try to recover their lives.

NEW DELHI (Morning Star News) – Christian relatives of a convert who fled to India from Afghanistan shortly before the Taliban seized power described days of terror before they were able to leave the country. The Christian refugee in India, 24-year-old Esin, has been granted a visa extension. Her brother, going by the pseudonym Zakariya for […]

Pastor in Nepal Sentenced to Prison under Proselytism Law

Statute violates religious freedom standards, leaders say.

NEW DELHI (Morning Star News) – A pastor in Nepal forced to pay exorbitant bail amounts for three separate cases was sentenced to two years in prison on Nov. 30 under a law against proselytizing, sources said. The Dolpa District Court sentenced 33-year-old pastor Keshab Raj Acharya of Abundant Harvest Church, Pokhara to two years in […]

Christian Parents in Pakistan Regain Custody of Minor Daughter

Allegedly kidnapped, forcibly married/converted girl opts for home.

LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – A court in Pakistan on Wednesday (Dec. 22) handed custody of a 14-year-old girl back to her Christian parents after she testified that she wished to return to them from a shelter home, sources said. The Sindh High Court (SHC) issued the decision in the case of Arzoo Raja, now […]