Death threats and the constant fear of persecution are just two things Junaid Saqib was forced to think about everyday while he was living in Pakistan and working on behalf of religious minorities like himself.
In 2013, a suicide bombing affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) on a Peshawar, Pakistani Catholic church, killed 11 of Saqib’s relatives and roughly 290 others were left dead or with significant injuries.
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Saqib, 33, could have been one of them. But he lucked out because he arrived 10 minutes after the attack. But according to retiree Jim Plumb, Saqib’s days alive in Pakistan were and still are numbered. If the religious minority advocate was not in Florida right now, “he wouldn’t be on this planet,” Plumb said.
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The father of two is high on the Pakistani Taliban kill list because he’s a well-known figure in the country due to his Christian advocacy work through his organization, Pakistan Minority Rights Commission (PMRC).
Now thanks to Jim and Jan Plumb, Saqib is living safely 12,000 miles away from the danger.
The Plumb’s said that God called them to take Saqib in after speaking with Reverend Ralph Rutledg, a missionary based in Canada.
When asked, Jan Plumb recalled, “We just opened our hearts and the Lord said, ‘Do it,’ and here we are now.”
“We’re walking a walk we’ve never walked before.”
Since arriving in March of this year, Saqib has relied heavily on his faith. It’s been tough because he’s in an unfamiliar area and far away from his family. “I’m praying to God that God gives me the wisdom to make decisions, and also…guidance from them [the Plumbs] because I don’t know anybody here, so they are like my parents.”
People in the Pashtun region are put into a predicament, he said, because “We are facing a lot of huge difficulties, being Christian in a Muslim state.”
Christians face deadly consequences for practicing their faith openly.
The Pakistani Taliban have routinely committed violent and deadly assaults on civilians and the military along the cities that border Afghanistan like Peshawar, CNN reported last year.
If you are interested in helping persecuted Christians in Pakistan and other parts of the world click here to learn more.
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(H/T: The Ledger)
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