Christian Genocide in Pakistan, 2021

By Hector Aleem (Pastor of the Anglican Church)

Political Motive of Committing Genocide on Christians in Pakistan

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan considers itself to be the legitimate leader of all Islamic countries. This gives it political motive to create a strictly unified Muslim society in its nation. Pakistan finds military strength for this hardline policy in it`s a nuclear power, although its nuclear power is not recognized by the international community. The Islamist ideology of Pakistan cannot compromise on division or on differing opinions. Hence, they try to crush whoever is different from the majority. As Pakistan is focusing more on Islamic identity, it actively oppresses Christians and other religious minorities.

Education as Muslim Propaganda and Conversion Tool

According to BBC News today,Two Christian men namely Anjum Naz and Javed Naz in Pakistani city of Gujranwala were given Death Penalty and 35 years in prison for blasphemy against Islam. The judge who gave the death penalty is a muslim woman named Bushra Zaman. That kind of punishment is not even given to a murderer but these two Christian men were accused verbally without any evidence.

The Pakistani government is using its media and school syllabus as propaganda tools against Christians and other religious minorities. They teach children in school that they are Muslims and they are superior to all non-Muslims. When my 5 years old son to the school, his Muslim teacher told him to convert to Islam and that Christianity is a false religion. How can a 5 years old child decide which religion to follow and what’s right or wrong? Islamic religious scholars and priests also keep preaching against Christianity, which causes normal Pakistanis to develop a mindset which is hostile and discriminatory towards Christians.

Charges of Disrespecting Islam

In Pakistan they practice Azan (Muslim call of prayer) 5 times a day, during which no one is allowed to watch TV or listen to music or even talk. If Christian women go outside, they have to cover their heads during azan and if they don’t they get beaten up by locals. After that a police report is filed against the girl and she gets locked up in jail on charges of blasphemy charges or disrespecting Islam.

Forensic photo of a 22 years old Christian man named Sarfaraz Masih. He was a resident of Muslim Colony, 9/9L Ganu Bhattian, District Sahiwal Pakistan. He used to work for a Pakistani Muslim landlord named Muhammad Irfan. His employer used to make him do extra work and used to torture him as well and paid him very little. They used to ask him to accept Islam so he can get better salary, less work and other luxuries. His employer used to tell him that if he and his family accept Islam then they can live a better life. But Sarfaraz never agreed with them and kept his faith on Jesus. When he did not accept Islam, his employer Muhammad Irfan and his companions got furious. They then put a noose around his neck and hanged him to death. The police still has not registered a case against them even when though its murder. The reason is that he was a Christian. Even if the police would file a complaint, they will purposely make a very weak case to save the murderers.

This is a slum area inside Islamabad city which is called tent or shopper colony, because most people there live in little tents made of plastic bags. This place is near an open sewerage line. Christians are forced to live there in extreme poverty and vulnerability. When they get sick, they are not allowed to be admitted in government hospitals. Most staff don’t want to touch a Christian (Christians are considered untouchable in Pakistan). Poor Christians then have to find hospital supplies from hospital garbage and use iton themselves. Because these syringes or medicines are used and expired, that increases the chances of death and contracting new diseases for the patient. This is the country that always speaks for the rights of Kashmir and Palestine while ignoring their Anti-Christian prejudice. The genocide and persecution of Christians that is happening in Pakistan right now is not being recognized by the world, instead they focus on Muslims of Kashmir, Palestine or Syria.

The Social Situation of Christians

Christians in Pakistan are economically disadvantaged, as they are not given jobs. They may be rejected for a job application just because of their Christian faith. Christians are only accepted for jobs such as janitor or sweeper and the salary for these jobs is low. Due to low income, most Christians are not able to send their children to school. Having no or little educational background, combined with their Christian faith contribute to their disadvantages in employment. Most Christians in Pakistan have to live in slum areas because of their economic status. Slums where these Christians are living are close to sewage lines and the houses are made up of mud with no boundaries, or small boundaries. Because of this setting and condition, Christian girls, especially minors, are in a vulnerable position as easy targets. As Christian men cannot get jobs, women must work as maids in the homes of Pakistani Muslims where they are harassed and exploited. Some are even denied their wages at the end of the day.

The Pakistani Blasphemy Law

ATTACK ON CHRISTIAN DURING CHRISTMAS PRAYER AT CHURCH IN LAHORE BY MUSLIMS. There is this Christian colony in the Amarsadhu area of Lahore, Pakistan. According to witnesses a mob of Muslims tried to kidnap Christian girls during the worship and were also passing derogatory remarks about those girls that today on Christmas day “the Christian choorian” are well dressed and look good and we will take them with us today. “Choori or chooray” is an Urdu word meaning untouchable s and toilet cleaners, a derogatory word used for Christians in Pakistan by Muslims. When they entered the Church gate to kidnap the girls, the Christian men who had been holding the temporary security of the church resisted and tried their best to fight back. As the mob of Muslim men were holding iron rods and wooden sticks, they injured the Christian men and ran away. There are many pictures of injured men but only a few are being shared over here. During the fight they had captured two Muslims but after the police arrived, they scolded the Christians that this is illegal and let the muslim guys go without any investigation or charges.

There is an infamous blasphemy law in Pakistan, which was specially created to silence Christians, and is often used as a tool to oppress and persecute Christians. This law is dangerous because the punishment for blasphemy is death and it is very easy to accuse anyone. Police never ask for evidence before registering the case and the police is usually biased towards the accused, especially when they are Christian. When a Christian is accused of blasphemy, he/she is tortured severely by a mob of angry Muslims. After that entire Christian neighborhoods are destroyed and torched. The family of the accused are also tortured and later they have to go into hiding to save themselves. When the accused is arrested, then that person is tortured by the police and during this procedure the police can kill them. If they somehow survive the lockup, they will be killed by inmates or some policeman inside the prison. When that person is presented in front of the court, the accused is given an automatic death sentence by the judge, without proper trial. Some accused get killed in front of the court by the Muslim mob. The blasphemy law is made especially for well-to-do Christians. They use different tactics to degrade, disgrace and kill Christians. Methods like forced conversions, sexual exploitation or giving low-income jobs are for poor Christians. The blasphemy law is intended for rich Christians. Although any Christian can become a victim of the blasphemy law, it is especially used against wealthy Christians as a tool to grab their land, property and sometimes businesses. I am an example of this, as I was involved in a false blasphemy case, was tortured and spent 4 years in prison in solitary confinement.

According to Jesus, God is our Father, yet the Quran very specifically denies that Allah is a father (112.1–4). Hence, Christmas is a blasphemy in the eye of Muslims.

MASSACRE OF PAKISTANI CHRISTIANS ON CHRISTMAS DAY WAS PLANNED, AS PAKISTANI MUSLIMS CONSIDER IT A BLASPHEMOUS FESTIVAL. PLAN FAILED BY SECURITY FORCES.

There is a banned organisation in Pakistan known as Lashker-e-Islam, who planned on attacking Churches and Christian homes during Christmas day with bombs and guns at the time when Christians would be worshipping. According to security forces, the plan was to murder Christian men and kidnap Christian women. According to a report by the BBC, 1400 years ago Christians were in majority in the Middle East but now they are almost extinct there. Pakistan is trying the same formula as the Middle East. If Western Countries don’t understand their mindset, then there will be no more Christians left in the world. And there will be no concept of Human Rights or Religious Freedom anywhere.

AN IMAM NAMED YOUNUS KATHRADA IN CANADA IS SAYING THAT WISHING ‘MERRY CHRISTMAS ’ IS WORSE THAN MURDER. During a sermon at the Muslim Youth of Victoria in British Columbia, Sheikh Younus Kathrada said he viewed with “great sadness” his fellow Muslims’ casual treatment of the “false” celebration of Christmas. He said Muslims who congratulate Christians on Christmas are committing crimes worse than adultery and murder.

The Arabic word Haram means a sin strictly forbidden by Quranic Sharia law.

Kidnapping and Rape as Methods of Forced Conversion

13 YEAR OLD CHRISTIAN GIRL KIDNAPPED, FORCEFULLY MARRIED AND CONVERTED TO ISLAM AND NOW SHE IS BEING FORCED TO LABOUR ON AN AGRICULTURAL FARM. This is a 13 years old Christian girl, her name is Mehwish Haroon. She was studying in 8th grade and was kidnapped while going to school by a 39 years old Pakistani Muslim man named Sajid Ali on 10th February, 2020, and after that she could not be found anywhere. Her parents went to the police station for help but the police officer denied to file a police report, instead he started asking for a bribe, but the girl’s parents were poor so they couldn’t bribe him. Later when the parents went to police station to file a report again, the officer told them that it’s now useless to file a report because the girl has been converted to Islam and is now married to 39 years old Pakistani Muslim man Sajid Ali who kidnapped her. Police also showed them her Conversion to Islam certificate and her marriage certificate. After that her parents and a pastor who went with them insisted that the police officer to send this report to the Court. Police officer sent it to the court but he said that courts will also favour the kidnapper. After a long delay, recently the court has given its decision. The judge in his decision wrote that the girl is now a Muslim and she can never be allowed to be with her Christian family. And that she will always be the wife of her kidnapper. Moreover, judge fined 30,000 rupees to the girl’s Christian parents for filing a police report, and gave them a warning to never come back to court with such a petition. That Christian girl is 13 years old and is now living with the person who kidnapped her as his wife, in a household with multiple wives (legal polygamy). The man and his family torture her every day, force her to work in the fields and make her sleep in the animal stable. They have given her only one bowl to eat which is separate from the rest of the household and they treat her like an animal. On top of that they call her different derogatory names like Choori, bhangi etc (these are racist and derogatory terms used for Christians in Pakistan).

Minor Christian girls are kidnapped, raped and forcefully converted to Islam. When the girl’s parents try to file a police report against kidnappers, the police always side with abductors. After that courts also give their decision in favor of kidnappers and order the girl to be married with the abductors. In some cases, the parents of kidnapped minor girl-children have been fined by the judge for filing a police report in the first place. There are many examples of a little girl walking to school and kidnapped on the way. After that, she is raped and forcefully converted to Islam and then married to the abductor. If the courts recover these girls due to legal pressure, they put them under governmental care before they are due to testify in court. The girls are not allowed to be reunited with their families. In governmental care they are instructed to say that the marriage and conversion was entirely voluntary. Many of these kidnapped girls are as young as 12–14 years old, and become wife no. 2 or 3 in a polygamous household, legally married to much older men.

Political Rights of Pakistani Christians

A church built of mud

There is little hope that the situation of Pakistani Christians will change as they do not have any elected representatives in the Pakistani Parliament. There are some Christian parliamentarians, but they do not represent Christians, only their respective political parties. These Christian parliamentarians are not elected, but selected by the government, and they have only one job: to lie to the international community about Christians being safe and enjoying freedom in Pakistan. In reality, Christians do not have the right to vote in Pakistan, which is a basic human right.

Pakistani Christian Nadeem James cries with his family in court after receiving a death sentence. He lived in the Pakistani City of Sara E Alamgir and was sentenced to death by the Pakistani Session Court, and his family was alsofined Rs 300,000 due to false charges of blasphemy. September, 2020.

Call for Prayer

Pastor Aleems flock at prayer

Pakistan is one of the countries that persecute Christians in the world today. Hundreds of Christians are killed every day because of their Christian faith in Pakistan. This persecution is transforming into a genocide. It is sad to see that even in 2021 a genocide can take place, and nothing is done to stop it. International human rights organizations and Western nations must intervene and stop this genocide. Please pray for Christians in Pakistan, we need your love and support.