Christian Couple Jailed, Charged with Blasphemy in Pakistan

Three young children are left without parents.

LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – The three young children of a Christian couple jailed on baseless charges of desecrating the Koran in Lahore, Pakistan last week have no relatives to care for them and are extremely upset, a rights advocate. Shaukat Masih, 33, and his 28-year-old wife Kiran have been in judicial custody since Saturday […]

Pastor Shot after Receiving Islamist Threats in Pakistan

Assailants ordered him to recite Islamic profession of faith.

Update: Police in Pakistan on Friday (Sept. 29) charged the Rev. Eleazar Sidhu with making false allegations after he admitted that a gunshot wound he had blamed on Islamic extremists was self-inflicted. Full updated story published on Oct. 1. The initial story follows: LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – A pastor was shot and wounded by […]

Christians Object to Injustices following Attacks in Pakistan

Police arrest Christians as chief claims ‘foreign conspiracy.’

LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – Church and rights leaders in Pakistan are demanding an investigation into anti-Christian rioting in Jaranwala amid illegal arrests of area Christians and a police claim of a “foreign conspiracy” to create religious strife, sources said. Violent Muslim mobs incited by hard-line Islamist party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) attacked churches and homes […]

Forced Conversion/Marriage of Minority Girls Targeted in Pakistan

Supreme Court orders government to respond to complaint.

LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday (Aug. 29) ordered the government to respond to a petition to stop courts from allowing forced conversion and marriage of minority girls in verdicts that act as covers for child rape, sources said. Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Ayesha Malik gave […]

Christian in Pakistan Charged with Blasphemy for TikTok Upload

Video posted of content that led to prior attacks in Jaranwala. 

LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – Police in Pakistan on Saturday night (Aug. 19) charged a Christian with blasphemy for uploading on TikTok a video of content that last week led to attacks on Christian homes and businesses in Jaranwala more than 100 kilometers away, sources said. Tensions flared over the weekend in 186/9-L village, Sahiwal, […]

Blasphemy Accusation Sparks Attacks on Christians in Pakistan

Two Christian brothers charged after Muslims frame them, relative says.

LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – Instigated by mosque leaders, Muslim mobs on Wednesday (Aug. 16) burned 20 church buildings and ransacked Christian homes and businesses in Jaranwala, Pakistan after a Muslim framed two Christians in a false blasphemy case, a relative said. The rioting began after Muslim residents of Cinema Chowk in Jaranwala, Faisalabad District, […]

Christian Charged with Blasphemy under Pakistan’s Terrorism Law

Move is ‘illegal and illogical,’ attorney says.

LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – A judge is allowing a Catholic to be charged with blasphemy under Pakistan’s anti-terrorism law, which his attorney said is “illegal and illogical.” Attorney Rana Abdul Hameed said Lahore Anti-Terrorism Judge Abher Gul Khan on July 6 rejected his application seeking the elimination of the terrorism charges against 32-year-old Imran […]

Christians in Pakistan Flee Homes after Blasphemy Accusation

Third case in less than a month in the same area creates panic.

LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – A third accusation of blasphemy in less than a month compelled Christians fearful of Islamic retribution to flee their homes in an eastern city in Pakistan this week, sources said. Muslim crowds including members of Islamic extremist groups blocked the main Sargodha-Faisalabad highway for hours on Sunday (July 16) after […]

Bail Denied to Christian under Islamist Pressure in Pakistan

Police, hard-line Muslims connive in baseless blasphemy case, sources say.

LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – Police in Pakistan on Tuesday (July 11) kept a Christian charged with blasphemy from appearing at his bail hearing, compelling a judge to bow to pressure from a crowd of slogan-shouting Muslims and deny his release, sources said. Haroon Shahzad, resident of a village near Sargodha, had been kept in […]

Arrested Christian in Pakistan Denies Sharing Facebook Post

Muslim leader advised complainant that content was not derogatory. 

LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – Police in Pakistan on Saturday (July 8) arrested a Christian for allegedly sharing a post on Facebook even though his village’s Islamic cleric and other Muslims denied that it amounted to blasphemy, his brother said. Wasim Masih told Morning Star News that Sargodha police registered a blasphemy case against his 35-year-old brother, […]