A persecution watchdog is warning about the dire state of persecution in Pakistan, calling it “one of the most difficult countries to be a Christian.”
David Curry, CEO of Global Christian Relief, told CBN News Pakistan’s blasphemy laws — regulations restricting slights against religion — can lead to mob violence and evils perpetuated against Christians.
“They have very strong blasphemy laws, which I describe as vigilante laws that give any extremist the ability to make an accusation against a Christian that they have offended — in some way — Muhammed,” Curry said. “And then rile up a mob to attack them, and [in] many cases kill them.”
He said some rely on these blasphemy laws to imprison and dole out the death sentence to Christians, often relying on fraudulent claims to make their case.
“In all these years I’ve been doing this, I don’t remember a case that seemed at all legitimate,” Curry said. “It’s just very common that there are false charges brought.”
Despite the chaos, Curry hopes Pakistan eventually curbs the misuse of these laws and the targeting of the Christian religious minority within its borders.
“I still have a sliver of hope that it has the possibility, as a democracy, as a country that … has some systems that still work, of being a real light in that region,” Curry said, expressing a semblance of expectancy that sanity reigns. “But, for now, what we have is a group that has been moving towards … the rule of Islamic extremism.”
Curry shared the story surrounding a group of people who were placed on death row for purportedly sending “texts claiming that Muhammad wasn’t God.” He said one of the most remarkable facets of the case was that these messages were purportedly sent in English while the accused were “illiterate.”
“They didn’t even have a cell phone,” Curry said. “So, everything about the accusation was clearly and patently false.”
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Another man was accused of burning a holy book. He was beaten and attacked, dying later in a local hospital.
As CBN News has reported, these cases are tragically frequent. Earlier this month, Marshall Masih of Lahore, Pakistan, 29, was killed in front of his wife and children.
“The assailants broke the door of my brother’s bedroom on the first floor of the house and held him and his family hostage on gunpoint,” Masih’s sister, Goshi Yaqoob, told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. “They then opened indiscriminate fire on him, riddling his body with 16 bullets in the presence of his wife and minor children.”
In a separate incident this past April, Dennis Albert, 35, reportedly found himself in legal crosshairs after exiting his pull car and inadvertently standing on papers said to have come from the Islamic holy book.
And in yet another example, police reportedly refused to help a Catholic family who recently fell victim to an attack by armed Muslims. Shahnaz Yousaf told Christian Daily International–Morning Star News her family saw their farmland seized during an April 16 assault. Read more about the horrific report here.
Meanwhile, a pastor survived an assassination attempt last year. There was also a horrific Aug. 16 assault last year, during which churches and Christians’ homes were attacked by Muslim mobs over blasphemy allegations in the same area, the UCA News reported. That incident led to at least 129 arrests.
Pakistan ranks on Open Doors’ World Watch List as the seventh most dangerous place for Christians.
Curry said it’s important for Christians around the globe to bring together their “collective voice to put pressure on Pakistan.” He noted the nation wants to be part of the business community, encouraging people to shine light on these injustices so people within Pakistan stand up and change these behaviors.
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