Tag: Lahore

Pakistan court acquits 20 in case of Christian couple burnt alive

March 26, 2018 Pakistan Blasphemy, Bonded labourers, Lahore, Minorities, Pakistan, Punjab, Quran, Shahzad Masih, Shama Bibi

Relatives of Shahzad Masih and his five-months-pregnant wife Shama Bibi are oraying at the site where the couple was killed for their “blasphemous” act on 4 November 2014. (Photo: Getty Images/AFP/Arif Ali)

An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Lahore, Pakistan, on Saturday (24 March) acquitted 20 men suspected of involvement in the murder of a Christian couple burnt alive at the kiln where they worked in November 2014 – after it was alleged that they had set fire to some pages from a Quran. . . . Read More

Youhanabad dead remembered as Pakistan Senate wants terrorism charges dropped

March 19, 2018 Pakistan Islamic extremism, Joseph Colony, Lahore, Pakistan, Taliban, Youhanabad

A candlelit vigil is held on March 17, 2015, to commemorate those killed in the suicide attacks on the Roman Catholic Church and Christ Church in Lahore's Youhanabad area. (Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Hundreds attended a commemoration service on Thursday, 15 March, for those killed and injured in the 2015 Easter suicide attacks on two churches in Youhanabad – the main Christian district in Lahore, Pakistan. The twin suicide bombings, which killed 17 and injured another 80, were claimed by a splinter group . . . Read More

Pakistan Christian still on death row, five years after his ‘blasphemy’ sparked Joseph Colony attack

March 15, 2018 Pakistan Blasphemy, Faisalabad, Joseph Colony, Lahore, Pakistan, Sahiwal, Sawan Masih

At the fifth anniversary of the arson attack on a Christian neighbourhood in the Pakistani city of Lahore, the mother of the Christian man convicted of blaspheming against Islam – and so provoking the attack – says she still prays for his release. Sawan Masih*, a 30-year-old sanitation worker, was accused . . . Read More

Pakistan blasphemy suspect says he jumped from fourth floor to escape forced sex act

February 26, 2018 Pakistan Blasphemy, Lahore, Pakistan, Patras Masih, Police, Sajid Masih, Torture

A suspect in a blasphemy case in Lahore, Pakistan, claims he was tortured by police and jumped from a fourth floor window to avoid being forced by officers to perform oral sex on his cousin, who is also under investigation. Sajid Masih, 24, suffered multiple fractures after jumping on Friday, . . . Read More

Pakistan: 800 Christian families flee neighbourhood after blasphemy accusation

February 20, 2018 Pakistan Blasphemy, Lahore, Nabeel Masih, Pakistan, Pashtun, Patras Masih

Several Islamic clerics and a few Christian leaders held a press conference at a police station in Lahore, Pakistan, this evening (20 February) to send a message to at least 800 families who fled a Christian neighbourhood in the city after a 20-year-old Christian man was accused of posting blasphemous content on Facebook, . . . Read More

Pakistan: Suspected killer of Christian student freed

January 30, 2018 Pakistan Caste, Lahore, Multan, Pakistan, Sharoon Masih, Vehari

The Muslim man arrested and jailed for killing a Christian fellow student has been released on bail, reports Asia News. Judges at the Multan High Court in Lahore, who released Ahmed Raza, said “no clear evidence was collected to attest to [his] guilt”. Sharoon Masih, 17, was beaten to death . . . Read More

Pakistani Christian girl, 13, raped by fellow worker in field

January 17, 2018 Pakistan Bonded labourers, Gujranwala, Lahore, Pakistan, Rape

A 13-year-old Pakistani Christian girl was raped in a rural area near the city of Gujranwala, north of Lahore, on Sunday (14 January), as she worked in the fields. The girl was found by her younger cousin, and taken to hospital. The local police station has registered a case and . . . Read More

Adding insult to injury – Pakistani church leaders arrested, fined for ‘not putting security in place’

December 22, 2017 Pakistan Faisalabad, Lahore, Multan, Pakistan, Peshawar, Punjab, Quetta

Bishop of Multan Leo Paul with a security inspection team outside Multan Cathedral, late Dec 2017

Pakistan intelligence agencies on Tuesday (19 December) put out an alert that major parks could be targeted by suicide bombers over Christmas in Lahore, capital of Punjab province – where the largest population of Christians resides. On Sunday (17 December), two suicide bombers attacked Bethel Memorial Methodist Church in the . . . Read More

Pakistan’s anti-blasphemy protests showcase minorities’ plight

November 27, 2017 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Barelvi, Blasphemy, Gujranwala, Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Minorities, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, Mumtaz Qadri, Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan, Pakistan Muslim League, Peshawar, Prophet Muhammad, Punjab, Rawalpindi, Salmaan Taseer, Sheikhupura, Sufi, Sunni, Taliban, Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan

In November there were widespread anti-blasphemy protests in Islamabad and other cities in reaction to proposed changes to an election law. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Anti-blasphemy protests in Pakistan have once again highlighted the fragile position of the country’s religious minorities. Life in various parts of Pakistan virtually came to a halt on Saturday (25 November) after the police, paramilitary and other law enforcement agencies clashed with rioters in the capital, Islamabad, resulting in protests . . . Read More

What makes Pakistan’s small religious minorities so significant?

November 24, 2017 Pakistan Caste, Constitution, Human rights, Lahore, Minorities, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, Pakistan, Punjab

Pakistan conducted its first census in 19 years in July. All the results have now been released, except those on religious minorities. The government has provided no explanation. On 22 November a small group of protesters, mostly Christians, gathered outside the Press Club in Lahore, the major city in Pakistan’s . . . Read More

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