5/26/2023　Pakistan   (Morning Star News) A Christian housecleaner in Pakistan was beaten and illegally confined for a week by her Muslim employers after she tried to leave her job due to pregnancy. Asma Gulfam, a 28-year-old Catholic maid in the Paka Ghara area of Sialkot District, Punjab Province, said she had worked for Huda Adnan for five years. Gulfam said that in early April she informed Adnan that she was five months pregnant and could not continue working due to a medical condition, but Adnan said she had to remain. On April 18, Adnan accused her of stealing 1 million rupees (US$3,490), and when she denied it, Adnan dragged her into a room where four policemen were waiting with Adnan’s husband. They pulled her hair and began beating her, and even after she began bleeding from the uterus the policemen and her employer’s husband continued hitting her. She was held against her will and tortured for eight days. When her husband, Gulfam Masih, went to the police station to report her missing, officers arrested him, and held him for a week. Fortunately, she did not lose the baby. Police have, so far, refused to deal with her complaint. Please pray… […]

2/13/2023　Pakistan   (Morning Star News) Arif Gill said he lost hope of finding his 15-year-old daughter – abducted by a 60-year-old Muslim who forcibly married her and converted her to Islam – until police in Pakistan finally registered a case after nearly two months. Saira, was kidnapped on Dec. 15 by Rana Tayyab, the husband of a Muslim government school principal for whom Saira worked as domestic help. He made repeated attempts to register a case against Tayyab, but the police refused to help him because he is a Christian and because Tayyab and his wife have considerable influence on the police. Gill’s lawyer, attorney Akmal Bhatti, learned of Gill’s ordeal on Feb. 3 and immediately arranged for the family to meet with regional police chief. When the police raided Tayyab’s house, his wife handed the officials the Islamic marriage certificate between her husband and Sitara. Her husband had already taken Saira to another location, and the police do not know where she is. Please pray… Pray that the police will not stop looking for Saira and that they will locate her and return her to her family. Pray that the law will be changed so that these kidnappings and […]

2/6/2023　Pakistan   (VOM) A Muslim man in Karachi, Pakistan recently threw acid on a 19-year-old Christian woman for refusing his pressure to enter into relationship and convert to Islam. Sunita Masih, who lives with her sister after the death of her parents, left for work, and after getting off the bus, her Muslim neighbor, Kamran Allah Bux, threw acid on her and fled. Sunita Masih suffered 20 percent burns in the attack, damaging her eyes, face, arms and legs. When she refused to consider marrying him and converting to Islam, Kamran harassed her. Her family registered a complaint with police to stop the harassment, but they did not act on it. Kamran confessed to the crime, admitting he did it in retaliation after she rejected his marriage proposal. Pakistan has a history of violence and discrimination against women, including acid attacks such as this one. One dozen such attacks have been reported since October, 2022. Please pray… Pray for the physical and emotional healing that Sunita needs right now after experiencing this terrible trauma. Pray that the Lord will comfort Sunita and her family, and protect them from other retaliation by Muslims who are upset that Kamran has been arrested. […]

1/26/2023    Pakistan   (VOM) The Pakistan National Assembly passed legislation on January 17 that would expand blasphemy statutes, This has raised fears among Christians and rights activists because the current anti-blasphemy law is already being abused. The new law was unanimously passed, and it would increase punishment for insulting any friends or relatives of Muhammad from three years to no fewer than 10 years, along with a fine of 1 million rupees (US$4,314). It would also make such blasphemous acts an offense for which bail is not possible. The legislation is expected to pass unanimously also in the Senate, and then it would require the president’s signature to become law. There are already many falsely accused Christians in prison now for blasphemy, and the new law would surely make it easier for Muslims to misuse the law to settle personal vendettas or punish those they want to harm. Please pray… Pray that the Lord will give the Christians of Pakistan wisdom as they are always in danger of being falsely accused of blasphemy. Pray that the those who have been falsely accused, and their families, will be comforted and encouraged by the Lord while they await their trial, and […]

1/17/2023    Pakistan   (Morning Star News) Saleem Masih said his family has been living in fear since Nov. 29, when his son, Ishtiaq Saleem, was arrested on false accusations of blasphemy – which can carry the death penalty in Pakistan. Ishitiaq, the 31-year-old father of one child, was accused of sharing blasphemous content on social media. He said someone sent something to his account without his knowledge, and that he never shared them. He is accused of disrespecting Muhammad, defiling the Koran, and defiling the names of Muhammad’s wives, among other crimes. Ishitiaq is in prison awaiting trial. His father is appealing to Pakistani Christian leaders and the international community for help because he is concerned for the safety of his family. Please pray… Pray that the Lord will give His peace to Ishitiaq and his family, and that they will not lose hope. Pray that other Christians who have been falsely accused of blasphemy will be acquitted and released, and that the government will revise or eliminate the controversial blasphemy law. Pray that those who falsely accuse Christians will be held accountable for their dishonest testimony.

8/24,30/2022    Pakistan   (Morning Star News, Morning Star News) On August 23, a two-member bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan granted bail to a Christian in a blasphemy case, with one of the justices expressing concern over blatant misuse of the law. Then, on August 30, two more Christians (one was imprisoned for 4 years, the other was mentioned in a Feb. 16, 2022 hakugai.org article) were released on bail. This is the third time this year that Christians who had been in jail after being falsely accused of blasphemy have been released on bail. One justice, Qazi Fael Isa, expressed regret that accusations of blasphemy are so easily made against innocent Christians and he ordered that their ruling be shared with all trial and high courts so that innocent persons are not wrongfully charged. He also said that the government must ensure that suspects in blasphemy cases are protected until their cases are resolved. Please pray… Praise the Lord for this very significant change in the handling of these blasphemy suspects. Pray that others who have been falsely charged with blasphemy (such as Ashfaq Masih) will be released on bail and that those who are released will […]

6/23/2022    Pakistan   (VOM) Sahid and his wife, Memona, have six children and live in a small Hindu village in Pakistan. In April 2022, a Hindu religious leader and one of Sahid’s relatives confronted Sahid and Memona about their Christian faith. The religious leader questioned why the couple had not attended Hindu festivals or participated in Hindu prayers. The leader and Sahid’s relative threatened the couple to renounce their faith in Christ, but Sahid and Memona remained firm in their faith. Later, the family’s home was set on fire, and the two youngest children died. When the couple notified the police, the authorities tried to pressure Sahid and Memona to claim the fire was an accident. Please pray… Pray for Sahid and Memona who have experienced great loss for their Christian witness. Pray that they experience the comfort and peace of God’s presence as they grieve. Pray that they will be able to show the love of Jesus to their relatives.

6/23/2022   Pakistan  (Morning Star News) Hopes for freedom of two Christian brothers on death row under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws were dashed this month when a court in Pakistan upheld their death sentence despite lack of evidence against them. Qaiser Ayub, 45, and Amoon Ayub, 42, have been incarcerated since 2014, and their appeal of the death sentence had been pending since 2018. The case against the brothers was registered in June 2011 on a complaint that they had created a blog containing blasphemous material against Islam’s prophet, Muhammad. The blog was actually created by Muslim friends of Qaiser Ayub who were resentful over a conflict with him. Even though the prosecution did not establish that the Ayub brothers authored or posted the blasphemous material on the blog, their conviction was upheld. Their lawyer will appeal to the Supreme Court. Please pray… Pray that the Lord will will encourage and strengthen Qaiser and Amoon, and give them His peace. Pray that the Lord will give wisdom to their lawyer as he tries to appeal their case to the Supreme Court. Pray for their families, that the Lord will encourage and comfort them.

6/16/2022   Pakistan  (Morning Star News) A young Christian in Pakistan has spent more than four years in jail on a false blasphemy charge as courts have delayed processes due to Islamist bias and discrimination against him. Patras Masih was 18 years old when he was accused in February 2018 of sharing a photo posted on Facebook deemed insulting to Muhammad. The resulting protests by Muslims sent hundreds of Christian families fleeing from their homes. The courts have been treating Patris unfairly despite there being no evidence proving the accusations. They have continually delayed holding hearings and blamed Masih’s attorney for the delays even though it was the prosecution witnesses that failed to show at previous hearings. Attorney Saif Ul Malook, who has helped numerous wrongly accused Christians in recent years, has been asked to file a bail petition in the Supreme Court for Patras Masih’s release. Please pray… Pray that the Lord will guide and use attorney Malook to help Patras Masih be released on bail. Pray that Patras will not lose hope but will be encouraged and comforted by the Lord. Pray that radical Muslims will not cause riots or attack Christians if they do not like the […]

3/21/2022   Pakistan  (Morning Star News) Authorities in Pakistan beat and arrested a Christian on March 6 for allegedly making blasphemous comments on social media and later tortured him into confessing his guilt. Cybercrime officials from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) raided the Lahore home of Fansan Shahid, 54, shortly after midnight and took him into custody on allegations that he had blasphemed Mohammed in a comment on Facebook in 2019. Fansan lost his cellphone in 2019. It is believed that someone used his phone to post the blasphemous comment. When his wife met with him briefly in FIA custody on March 17, he told her they had tortured him into confessing the alleged crime. Pakistan’s leading human rights defender, attorney Saif UI Malook, gave the family hope when he stepped forward to assist in the legal battle. Malook was the lawyer who overturned the convictions of Aasiya Noreen (better known as Asia Bibi) and others falsely accused of blasphemy. Please pray… Pray that the Lord will encourage Fansan in prison and sustain his family. Pray that Fansan, who has several health problems, will be kept strong and healthy by the Lord. Pray that the Lord will give attorney Saif […]