Pakistan is home to over two million Christians. All are at risk at all times of being victimized by false blasphemy accusations or other forms of persecution.
A small number of the Christians in Pakistan are Orthodox. Orthodox Christians in Pakistan are under the spiritual jurisdiction of the Orthodox Metropolitanate of Singapore and South Asia, which comprises all the Orthodox Communities, Parishes, Foundations and Philanthropic Projects in Singapore, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Afghanistan, Brunei, Timor, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, as well as Pakistan.
For previous ChristianPersecution.com coverage of the persecution of Christians in Pakistan, see here.
“Christians in Pakistan are struggling to survive barbaric persecution,” by David Curry, Global Christian Relief, June 9, 2023:
(Global Christian Relief) — On May 18, Babar Sandhu Masih, a Catholic, heard a commotion outside of his house in Lahore, Pakistan. Masih ran outside to investigate and found his neighbor beating Masih’s 18-year-old son and another Christian boy, about 14 years old. Their supposed crime? Disrespecting the Prophet Muhammad, an allegation the boys flatly denied. They were arrested by police and charged under Pakistan’s blasphemy statutes, punishable by the death penalty.
Pakistan has long had some of the harshest blasphemy laws in the world, but they are getting worse. In addition to state-sanctioned execution, Pakistani Christians and other religious minorities face abductions, indentured servitude and all manner of discrimination. The laws are rampantly exploited to systematically oppress Christians, Hindus, Sikhs and anyone who doesn’t follow the teachings of Islam. It’s time for the U.S. and the global community to stand up and hold Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, and his oppressive government accountable for these clearly unjust actions.
According to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom’s Freedom of Religion or Belief Victims List, more than 50 Pakistani Christians and religious minorities are currently detained or imprisoned on charges of blasphemy, with a number facing execution. To make matters worse, Sharif’s predecessor, Imran Khan, doubled down on the blasphemy laws, encouraging other Muslim-majority countries to band together and exploit trade boycotts to pressure Western countries to pass similar restrictions.
Sadly, accusations of blasphemy are just one of the many forms of persecution and injustice Christians face in Pakistan. Last fall, 200 Pakistani Christian families were left homeless in the capital, Islamabad, when, without warning, a government agency bulldozed their homes and church with their belongings still inside. Christians have endured other types of violence. Earlier this year, a Muslim landowner beat a Catholic farm laborer to death, claiming he stole oranges from his orchard. That killing followed the shooting death of a Pakistani Christian who tried to stop Muslims from stealing his guava crop….
