Pakistan’s Calculated Spin on Apparent Killing of Chinese Evangelists

Interior ministry’s statement sends chilling message to foreign Christians.

(Morning Star News) – Islamabad’s claim that “violations” of business visas contributed to the murder of two Chinese evangelists last month served key government purposes. Lee Zing Yang (Li Xinheng is said to be the more accurate rendering), 24, and Meng Li Si (Meng Lisi), 26, were teaching Chinese to people in Pakistan, and, like […]

Hospital in Pakistan Accused of Letting Christian Die Requests Arrest of Relatives, Colleagues

Medical superintendent tries to pressure family to drop case, sources say.

LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – Hospital officials are trying to pressure family members of a Christian who died from lack of treatment to drop charges against them by ordering their arrest, sources said. A court in Pakistan has ordered police to register a case against family members and colleagues of Christian sanitation worker Irfan Masih, […]

Christian Father of 2-Year-Old in Pakistan Jailed on Flimsy Blasphemy Charge, Brother Says

Arrested amid government crack-down on online ‘blasphemy.’

LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – Amid a government campaign in Pakistan against “blasphemous” content online, a Christian was arrested on Friday (June 16) when a Muslim accused him of blasphemy after a dispute over a repair bill, sources said. After millions of Pakistanis last month began receiving text messages from the government warning them against […]

Christian Sanitation Worker in Pakistan Dies after Hospital Refuses to Treat Him, Family Says

Muslim doctors said he was ‘unclean,’ brother says.

LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – A Christian sanitation worker in Pakistan died on Thursday (June 1) after Muslim doctors refused to treat him for poisonous gas he was exposed to in a sewer, sources said. Doctors at Civil Hospital Medical refused to treat 28-year-old Irfan Masih of Umerkot City, Sindh Province, saying they did not […]

Christian in Pakistan Sentenced to Life Imprisonment for ‘Blasphemy’

Scanty evidence calls for acquittal, attorney says.

LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – A court in Pakistan has sentenced a Christian to life in prison under the country’s blasphemy laws in spite of scanty evidence, an advocacy official said. Nasir Saeed said a trial court in Rawalpindi sentenced Zafar Bhatti to life imprisonment, even though conviction under Section 295-C of Pakistan’s blasphemy law […]

Girl, 14, Rescued from Muslim in Pakistan Accused of Forcibly Converting Her

Police officer held her captive at his home, family says.

LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – A 14-year-old Catholic girl in Pakistan, taken from her family in December and forcibly converted to Islam, was rescued on Wednesday (April 26), her lawyer said. Attorney Tahir Bashir said police officer Munir Ahmed on Dec. 6 illegally detained Sumbal Arif of Hafizabad District, Punjab Province and coerced her into […]

Violence against Muslims Accused of Blasphemy in Pakistan Spurs Calls for Reform of Laws

Christians long persecuted under the statutes are hopeful.

LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – Gruesome violence against Muslims accused of blasphemy in Pakistan has reignited calls for amending blasphemy statutes commonly used to persecute Christians. The lynching of a Muslim student over blasphemy charges at a university in northwestern Pakistan, the murder of a blasphemy accused Muslim in Punjab Province and mob violence against […]

Christians Accused in Killings in Pakistan Tortured, Pressured to Recant Faith

42 suspects in lynching of Muslims offered freedom if they convert to Islam.

LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – Relatives of jailed Christians in Pakistan said police who tortured the prisoners offered freedom if the detainees converted to Islam, and that a public prosecutor made the same offer in exchange for bail. The accusations come days after the government of Pakistan decried forced conversions of people of minority faiths. […]

Young Christian Shot Dead in Streets of Sheikhupura, Pakistan

Muslim threatened him after sweeper refused his order.

LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – A young Christian sanitation worker was gunned down in Pakistan on March 20 for refusing an influential Muslim’s order to clean his outhouse on his day off, sources said. Noman Munir Masih, 20, of Sheikhupura in Punjab Province, was the sole breadwinner of his Pentecostal family after his father died […]

Christian Teenager Charged with Blasphemy in Pakistan Waits in Jail

Image posted on Facebook without his consent, attorney says.

LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – A 16-year-old Christian in Pakistan is languishing in jail under a baseless blasphemy charge after a judge declined to grant him bail this month, his attorney said. The judge in Punjab Province’s Kasur District on Feb. 7 denied bail to Nabeel Masih, who has been jailed since Sept. 18, 2016 […]