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 […]

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 […]

Christian Woman in Pakistan Jailed on Blasphemy Charges

Family faces intense pressure from Muslims to drop defense.

LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – A Christian woman in Pakistan remains in jail on baseless charges of blasphemy after a judge rejected her bail application on Monday (June 3), sources said. Stella Khawar, 28, was arrested on May 12 in Kharota Syedan, in the Kotli Loharan area of Sialkot District, Punjab Province, and […]

Christian Accused of Blasphemy Dies from Injuries in Pakistan

Muslim mob incited by mosque announcement over false accusation.

LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – An elderly Christian attacked by a Muslim mob in Pakistan over a false blasphemy accusation succumbed to his injuries at 12:30 a.m. Monday (June 3), his son said. Sultan Gill, son of 74-year-old Nazeer Masih Gill, said his father passed away after the government had moved him to […]

Suspects Unprosecuted in Death by Torture of Christian in Pakistan

Police decline to arrest accused Muslims who pressured relatives.

LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – With suspects in a homicide case pressuring the victim’s relatives to make false statements, police in Pakistan are declining to arrest them in the case of a Catholic tortured to death by his Muslim employers, sources said. Sonia Shahid, widow of 35-year-old Shahid Masih and mother to their […]

Court in Pakistan Forces ‘Islam’ Designation on Christian’s ID Card

Employer fraudulently ‘converted’ worker, attorney says.

LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – A court in Pakistan denied a Christian victim of fake conversion to change the religious designation of Islam and the Muslim name that his Muslim employers fraudulently registered on his National Identity Card, sources said. “Islam teaches that everyone is Muslim at birth but the parents and society […]