Over 600 Christians met and prayed for the persecuted church of Iraq. Wilson carried the cross a recognised symbol of our faith (image lost during transfer of website). A one hour prayer vigil was held at Parliament Square yesterday. At least 600 Christians came together to share a time of corporate prayer over the terrible situation faced by minorities in Iraq. Wearing red to symbolise the blood of martyrs they came without banners. The event which grew through a facebook campaign led by a group called “Prayer 7:14”, brought Christians of all diversities to a designated meeting point known for…
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Pic: Pakistani Christian women place flowers as they mourn suicide bombing victims at All Saints Church in northwest Pakistan’s Peshawar. Today Premier Christian Radio questioned our Chairman Wilson Chowdhry on his thoughts regarding the increased deaths of Christian’s in Pakistan. Here is part of their report and an on-line snapshot recording of his fuller interview: (Click here) Huge increase in Pakistan Christian killings Fri 15 Aug 2014 The number of Christians murdered in Pakistan has jumped by 121 in the past 12 months. Between July 2013 and June 2014 128 believers died in the country whist 185 were injured. The…
A multi-faith delegation submit petition to 10 Downing Street (image lost since this new website was created) Over 500 visitors of different faiths, cultures and other diversities, converged on 10 Downing Street today (13.08.14), to call for better protection for the suffering minorities facing genocide in Iraq. People of good conscience shouted slogans such as; Down down ISIS down!, Stop killing innocent Christians and Stop the crisis bring down ISIS – intent on highlighting concerns about the safety of many recent victims. There collaborative demonstration was organised to convince the UK government to increase their current level of aid to…
Rape victim Muqadas Image altered to protect identity. LAHORE: Report by Mushtaq Gill BPCA Partner group LEAD protested on Tuesday after complaints of police not investigating fairly in the case of a twelve-year-old Christian girl’s rape. Liaqat Masih has four daughters all four work in the homes of Muslim Landlords as maids, as does his wife. One daughter called Muqadas, a 12-year-old regarded as a minor in Pakistani law. On August 2,2014 at about 14:00 PM when Muqadas and her elder sister Asma were returning home from work, Muqadas was forcibly kidnapped by two men and three unknown women. Muqadas was taken into a school…
Excerpt from the targeting of minority ‘others’ in Pakistan Terrorisation of Christian communities has taken place for a number of decades. Minority Rights International confirms that “there have been continuous reports of attempts forcibly to convert Christians to Islam. Christian and Hindu religious leaders and places of worship have come under attack, and followers of these religions face threats and intimidation. In May 2007”, to cite another example, “in Charasadda, in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), Christians were warned that if they do not convert to Islam, they would be killed. They were also warned that their places of…
Image Mr Gill (centre). Lahore: Today at about 10:40 PM,there was a shooting incident at the home of Advocate Sardar Mushtaq Gill,a Human Rights Defender and Chief of LEAD. The incident occured when his younger brother and two other friends were standing by the front door of the home of Mr.Gill. All three men fled the area as the shooters fired straight towards them. Although the intended targets were uninjured a Muslim neighbour was seriously hurt. The shooters fled the scene and there identities and whereabouts are unknown. A neighbour was shot in the leg. Mr Gill called the police…
3rd August 2014 Today, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) overran the city of Sinjar and the two towns of Rabia and Zumar with no defence being reportedly offered by the KDP peshmergas. This is despite the fact that Mr. Barzani promised the residents on his visit a few days ago to Sinjar province that he would protect them. Residents of these towns and Sinjar question why no reasonable defence was offered. The capture by ISIS of these areas poses the severest of threats to not just the local inhabitants but also the population of the city of Hassaka on…
However, “to date, the law has reportedly had little effect and is not uniformly enforced. Bail is generally not granted in blasphemy cases on the grounds that persons facing the death penalty are likely to abscond. Furthermore, prosecution of blasphemy cases is notoriously slow and suspects often ultimately spend lengthy periods in prison. Although some blasphemy convictions are overturned on appeal, first instance courts are often subject to intimidation resulting in, inter alia, a lengthy decision process and refusal of bail out of fear of retaliation from religious extremists”. Jahangir, Chairperson of HRCP, the blasphemy laws have actually “reached their…
Professor Desmond Fernandes our Lead researcher is nearing the end of the much awaited BPCA report on Gender and Minority Discrimination in Pakistan. The report brings together key figures from a variety of faiths and humanitarian groups focused on reform in Pakistan. Contributing writers include; F. Benkhald a Pakistani Jew, Salma Peter John – former Speech writer for Shahbaz Bhatti, Fareed Ahmad National Secretary External Affairs, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK with contributions by Asif Shakoor (solicitor for the Senior Courts of England & Wales specialising in Civil Law) and Ghalib Lone (former UN Legal Analyst and currently a Compliance Officer…