LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – Authorities in Pakistan have failed to curb a range of human rights violations, including a sharp increase in blasphemy-related violence, the UN Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) noted last week. Abductions of girls who are then forced to convert to Islam, arbitrary detentions, disappearances and crackdown on political dissent […]
UN Body Slams Pakistan for Human Rights Violations
Blasphemy law, abductions and forced conversions/marriages cited.
October 28, 2024 By -
Christian Parents Regain Custody of Forcibly Converted/Married Girl
Judge recognizes 16-year-old made misleading statement under duress.
October 25, 2024 By -
LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – A court in Pakistan on Friday (Oct. 25) returned custody of a 16-year-old Christian girl to her parents after a Muslim had kidnapped and forcibly converted/married her, sources said. Diya Iftikhar was abducted from her home in village Chak No. 126-GB Sheroana in Jaranwala, Faisalabad District, Punjab Province, […]
Suspension of Pakistan from Commonwealth of Nations Sought
Rights advocates within country, however, disagree with initiative.
October 24, 2024 By -
LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – A coalition of 17 international human rights organizations is demanding Pakistan be suspended from the Commonwealth of Nations due its blasphemy laws and other rights violations, but local activists said that could result in more hardship for religious minorities. The coalition sent an open letter to the Commonwealth […]
Rare Bail Granted to Christian Woman Accused of Blasphemy
Lives of two falsely accused sisters remain in danger.
October 23, 2024 By -
LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – A trial court in Pakistan has granted rare bail to a Christian arrested on blasphemy charges, her attorney said. Additional Sessions Judge Gojra Waseem Mubarak granted post-arrest bail to Saima Masih, widow of Farhad Masih, on Sept. 10, though for security reasons it was not revealed until this […]
Muslim Employers Force Christian, 17, to Convert, Mother Says
Boy held in their illegal custody.
October 3, 2024 By -
LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – Muslim employers of a 17-year-old Christian who works at their gas company in Pakistan have forcibly converted him to Islam and are holding him in illegal custody, his mother said. Samina Javed, a brick kiln worker in Bhadru Minara village in Sheikhupura District, Punjab Province, said her son, […]
Christian Family Pressured to Drop Gang-Rape Charges in Pakistan
Muslim suspects issue threats.
September 30, 2024 By -
LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – Muslims who abducted a 17-year-old Christian girl and gang-raped her for 10 days are threatening her family to pressure them to withdraw charges, even as police have failed to arrest most of the suspects, her father said. The girl, whose identity is withheld as a rape victim, was […]
Christian 16-Year-Old Girl in Pakistan Kidnapped, Converted
Muslims force her to declare conversion and marriage, parents say.
September 24, 2024 By -
LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – A 16-year-old Christian girl in Pakistan was forced to convert to Islam and marry a Muslim after he and two accomplices kidnapped her this month, her parents said. Shahida Iftikhar and her husband Iftikhar Joseph were attending a wedding when their daughter, Diya Iftikhar, was abducted from their […]
Police Suspected of Killing another Blasphemy Suspect in Pakistan
Second accused Muslim in one week shot dead.
September 23, 2024 By -
LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – A week after police in Pakistan allegedly killed a Muslim accused of blasphemy, Muslims celebrated the murder of another blasphemy suspect by bestowing garlands on police suspected of killing him, sources said. The killing of a Muslim doctor in Sindh Province on Thursday (Sept. 19) after he was […]
Christian Mother Sentenced to Death in Pakistan for Blasphemy
Verdict made under Islamist pressure to be appealed.
September 19, 2024 By -
LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – A Christian mother of four children on Wednesday (Sept. 18) received the death sentence after a judge convicted her under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, her attorney said. Shagufta Kiran, 40, was convicted under Section 295-C of Pakistan’s widely condemned blasphemy laws for insulting Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, […]
Killing of Muslim Accused of Blasphemy Shocks Christians in Pakistan
Policeman allegedly shoots suspect dead in custody.
September 16, 2024 By -
LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – Church leaders and rights activists in Pakistan condemned the killing on Thursday (Sept. 12) of a Muslim in custody on charges of blasphemy. The alleged assassination of Abdul Ali by a constable identified in news reports as Saad (or Syed) Khan Sarhadi at the Cantonment police station in […]