The Sindh High Court of Pakistan has given custody of a 13-year-old Christian girl to her Muslim abductor. Witnesses said the teenager, Arzoo, arrived at the court surrounded by dozens of Muslim women and men so she could not leave, and no one could reach her. Therefore, when she arrived at court and tried to…
The Supreme Court of Pakistan has expressed its displeasure over the federal government reconstituting the minorities’ commission. Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Gulzar Ahmed, asked why the federal government has set up another commission when the court had already constituted a minority commission. A three-member bench of the supreme court conducted a hearing of a…
The attempted kidnapping of a teenage Christian girl called Kenza, by a local Muslim landlord and his friends, was foiled by her parents. The father of the teenager, Arif Masih, of village chak 37 South Sargodha, a driver by profession, told the media how local landlord Aqeel Alias Baba along with his friends tried to…
The father of a young Christian girl called Nida is desperate for help, as a Muslim man has threatened him to kidnap his daughter if he doesn’t agree to let him marry the girl. A Christian man, Sabir Masih, a resident of Samundari, District Faisalabad, has registered a first information report (FIR) with the police…
Zafar Bhatti, a Pakistani Christian who has been imprisoned since 2012 in Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi, charged with sending blasphemous text messages has said he is still strong in his Christian faith. He told CLAAS’s team, who obtained special permission to meet him inside the jail, that because of his ill-health he is going through difficult…
A Senate panel in Pakistan has rejected two bills. One was seeking the protection of minorities, and the other sought amendments to the Muslim family laws. The Standing Committee on Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony met under the chairmanship of Maulana Ghafoor Haideri. Last month the Protection of Rights of Minorities Bill, 2020 was introduced…
A Christian father of two has been arrested by police on suspicion of stealing 2.2 million rupees worth of hospital medicines. Imran Masih, 33, of Canal Park Christian Colony, Rahim Yar Khan, had been working as a cleaner on daily wages at Sheikh Zaid Government Hospital for six years. Sunil Masih, a relative of Imran’s…
Pakistani police have arrested a Christian man from the northwestern city of Nowshera on suspicion of committing blasphemy, according to local reports. Nowshera Police arrested the man in the city after local people in Risalpure accused him of desecrating the Holy Quran. The man, identified as David, was detained under the blasphemy laws after the…
On August 24 the Parliamentary Committee to protect minorities from forced conversions was briefed by Chairman Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) Dr. Qibla Ayaz and Minister for Human Rights Dr. Shireen Mazari in relation to further discussion on the matter. Dr Ayaz said the matter of marriage of minor girls and their conversion is an…
A Christian girl, Anika Shehzad, 18, from Ferozwala district Shakhupura, who was working as a domestic servant was beaten after refusing to convert to Islam, and accused of theft. Anika comes from a poor family, and to support her family she accepted a job for Rs. 5000, around $30 a month, as a live in…
