Persecution of Christians in Pakistan: reports of forced conversion continue to increase. Most of the victims and their families charge that Pakistani police frequently refuse to help the victims, and even side with the kidnappers.
Pakistan’s small and courageous Orthodox Christian community is as vulnerable to this persecution as are the rest of Pakistan’s Christians. The ongoing mistreatment of Christians and other religious minorities in Pakistan is an issue of immense importance that nevertheless receives scant attention from the UN or international human rights organizations. Please pray that the Christian community in Pakistan will be able to endure this martyrdom and experience a resurrection, and that relief will come to this courageous and long-suffering Christian community.
For previous coverage of forced conversions and the persecution of Christians in Pakistan in general, see here.
“Pakistani Christian Murdered for Protecting Woman from Forced Conversion,” International Christian Concern, December 3, 2019:
12/03/2019 Pakistan (International Christian Concern) – On October 21, Naveed Masih, age 24, was found dead, hanging from a tree, in Kotri, a town located in Pakistan’s Sindh province. According to Naveed’s family, he was murdered because he was protecting a Christian woman from being harassed by local Muslim extremists.
“Carrying your son’s dead body in your arms is heartbreaking and unbearable,” Herbert Masih, Naveed’s father, told International Christian Concern (ICC). “It almost ended my life when I had to shoulder my son’s funeral.”
According to Herbert, Naveed was protecting a Christian woman, who is married and already has two children, from being harassed and forcefully converted to Islam by Sajid Ali.
“On the incident day, Naveed received a call on his phone,” Herbert explained. “He followed the instructions and reached the decided meeting point. There, he was brutally tortured and he was hanged from a tree as a result of protecting a Christian woman’s faith.”
About two months prior to Naveed’s murder, a mob of 20 individuals attacked Naveed’s house. The mob beat Naveed and damaged many of the family’s belongings. The mob further threatened Naveed to not interfere with their efforts to convert the Christian woman….