Pakistan — On Thursday, a sessions court in Karachi sentenced Ali Hyder to life imprisonment for desecrating the Holy Quran in 2021. Additional District and Sessions Judge (East) Shahid Ali Memon found the accused guilty, ruling that the prosecution had convincingly proven the charge of defiling copies of the Quran under Section 295-B of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

“All the prime witnesses had fully supported the case regarding the date of offense, time of the offense, arrest of accused, seizure of property, etc. In other words, it can safely be said that all the witnesses, including the complainant, had corroborated each other, and the learned defense counsel made cross-examination upon them, but he has not been able to cause any dent to their evidence,” the judge said.

Hyder was accused of desecrating the pages of the Quran. A complaint was filed, and he was arrested shortly after. During the trial, the prosecution presented eight witnesses and contended that the evidence against Hyder was overwhelming and called for a conviction.

The defense pointed out an unexplained delay in filing the complaint and noted that no members of the public had reported the incident to the police that day.

Blasphemy laws in Pakistan can be weaponized during disputes or to target Christian minorities unfairly. Currently, there are 198 individuals who are in jail or on trial for blasphemy charges in Pakistan, according to a 2023 report from the U.S. Department of State.
Sources:persecution

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ഔഗാഡൗഗു: ആഫ്രിക്കന്‍ രാജ്യമായ ബുർക്കിന ഫാസോയിലെ ക്രിസ്ത്യൻ പള്ളിയില്‍ ഇസ്ലാമിക തീവ്രവാദികള്‍ 26 പേരെ കഴുത്ത് അറത്ത് കൊലപ്പെടുത്തി. ഓഗസ്റ്റ് 25-ന് പടിഞ്ഞാറൻ ബുർക്കിന ഫാസോയിലെ സനാബ പട്ടണത്തിൽ എത്തിയ തീവ്രവാദികൾ ക്രൈസ്തവ കൂട്ടക്കൊല നടത്തുകയായിരിന്നു. സംഭവത്തെ പൊന്തിഫിക്കൽ സന്നദ്ധ സംഘടനയായ എയിഡ് ടു ചർച്ച് ഇൻ നീഡ് (എസിഎൻ) അപലപിച്ചു. ഗ്രാമം വളഞ്ഞ ജിഹാദികൾ 12 വയസ്സിന് മുകളിലുള്ള പുരുഷന്മാരായ എല്ലാ ക്രൈസ്തവരെയും ക്രൈസ്തവ വിശ്വാസത്തെ പിന്തുണയ്ക്കുന്നവരെയും കെട്ടിയിട്ടു. വൈകാതെ ഇവരെ എല്ലാവരെയും അടുത്തുള്ള ക്രിസ്ത്യൻ പള്ളിയിലേക്ക് കൊണ്ടുപോകുകയായിരിന്നു.

26 പുരുഷന്മാരെയും തീവ്രവാദികള്‍ കഴുത്തറുത്തു കൊന്നുവെന്നാണ് റിപ്പോര്‍ട്ട്. ബർസലോഗോ ഗ്രാമത്തിൽ തീവ്രവാദികൾ നടത്തിയ ആക്രമണത്തിന് ഒരു ദിവസത്തിന് ശേഷമാണ് ആക്രമണമുണ്ടായത്. ഇവിടെ ഔദ്യോഗിക കണക്ക് പ്രകാരം മരണസംഖ്യ 150 ആണെങ്കിലും 250 കവിഞ്ഞേക്കുമെന്നാണ് വിവരം. 150 പേർക്ക് ഗുരുതരമായി പരിക്കേറ്റു.ACN വൃത്തങ്ങൾ നല്‍കുന്ന റിപ്പോര്‍ട്ട് പ്രകാരം, ഇസ്ലാമിക തീവ്രവാദികളുടെ അക്രമത്തെത്തുടർന്ന്, അയ്യായിരത്തോളം സ്ത്രീകളും കുട്ടികളും രാജ്യത്തിൻ്റെ വടക്ക്-പടിഞ്ഞാറ്, മാലിയുടെ അതിർത്തിക്കടുത്തുള്ള നൗന പട്ടണത്തിൽ അഭയം തേടിയിട്ടുണ്ട്.

2024 മെയ് മുതൽ, വടക്കുപടിഞ്ഞാറൻ ബുർക്കിന ഫാസോയിൽ 100 ക്രൈസ്തവരാണ് കൊല്ലപ്പെട്ടത്. സനാബ, സെകുയി തുടങ്ങിയ പട്ടണങ്ങളിലായി നൂന രൂപത പരിധിയില്‍ നിരവധി ക്രൈസ്തവരാണ് ഇക്കാലയളവില്‍ കൊല്ലപ്പെട്ടത്. കത്തോലിക്കാ, പ്രൊട്ടസ്റ്റൻ്റ്, ആരാധനാലയങ്ങൾ നശിപ്പിക്കപ്പെടുകയോ അഗ്നിയ്ക്കിരയാക്കുകയോ ചെയ്തിട്ടുണ്ട്. എ‌സി‌എന്നിന്‍റെ 2023-ലെ വേൾഡ് റിലീജിയസ് ഫ്രീഡം റിപ്പോർട്ട് പ്രകാരം, ബുർക്കിന ഫാസോയില്‍ ക്രൈസ്തവര്‍ ഇസ്ലാമിക തീവ്രവാദികളില്‍ നിന്നു കനത്ത ഭീഷണിയാണ് നേരിടുന്നത്. ഇസ്ലാമിക ഭൂരിപക്ഷ രാജ്യമായ ബുർക്കിന ഫാസോയിൽ 23.33% ക്രൈസ്തവരാണുള്ളത്.
കടപ്പാട് :പ്രവാചക ശബ്ദം

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Pakistan — A Pakistani Muslim man abducted, forcibly converted and married a 12-year-old Christian girl as police delayed efforts to recover her, family members said.

Parveen Shaukat, a Catholic widow and mother of eight children, said that Muhammad Asad abducted her youngest daughter, Fairy Shaukat, from the Habibabad Mandi area in Pattoki Tehsil, Kasur District of Punjab Province, on Aug. 9.

“Fairy had gone to a nearby shop to buy groceries in the afternoon, but she did not return home,” Shaukat told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. “My sons started searching for her but could not find her. We then filed a complaint with the police, but their attitude was not welcoming. Instead of helping us, they delayed the registration of a First Information Report [FIR].”

She said a neighbor later informed the family that he had seen Asad abduct Fairy.

“We informed the police about the accused, but they still did not take any action, giving sufficient time to Asad to convert the minor child and contract an Islamic marriage with her,” Shaukat said.

The impoverished mother said police finally registered an FIR on Aug. 10, but were slow to make efforts to recover the child.

“On Aug. 13, my sons received the Nikahnama [Islamic marriage certificate] of Fairy through WhatsApp from an unknown number,” she said. “We were shocked to see the document and urged the police to take action against this underage marriage. When the police finally raided the house of the accused, he was not there. It’s nearly 20 days now that I haven’t seen my child, and we have no information about her safety.”

Shaukat said she didn’t believe her minor daughter could go willingly with the suspect.

“Fairy is just 12 years old. She had no access to a cell phone and rarely went out of the home by herself,” Shaukat said. “She was abducted by Asad, who we have heard is a loafer. He targeted my child for sexual exploitation, and my heart sinks every time I think of how she is being treated in captivity.”

After failing to find a trace of their child, the family contacted Christian attorney Sumera Shafique for legal aid.

“I’m filing a petition in the Lahore High Court for the child’s recovery,” Shafique told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. “It’s very unfortunate that police delay action in cases involving underage minority girls, which allows the perpetrators to scar these children for life.”

Shafique said she also intends to charge the suspect with various crimes, including child marriage and rape, after he and the girl appear in court.

Officers have registered a case against Asad with kidnapping a person from lawful guardianship, punishable by up to seven years in prison under Section 363 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

“But this charge is not enough,” Shafique said. “The accused not only kidnapped the child, he converted her and contracted an Islamic marriage to save himself from prosecution,” a common practice by kidnappers to sexually exploit underage minority girls.

She called for strict enforcement of anti-child marriage laws as well as criminalizing forced conversions of underage girls.

“The new anti-child marriage bill submitted in the Punjab Provincial Assembly is a good initiative, but there’s a need to ensure that it is implemented in letter and spirit,” she said. “This is a major weakness in our law enforcement and judicial system, that though relevant laws already exist, they are not implemented.”

New bill

In a bid to criminalize underage marriages in Punjab Province, the provincial government on April 25 submitted the Punjab Child Marriage Restraint Act, 2024, in the provincial Assembly, which would raise the legal age for marriage for both males and females to 18 years. Previously the legal age for marriage for girls in the province was 16.

Under the proposed bill, anyone who marries a girl or boy younger than 18 or arranges such a marriage — including parents or guardians — would face two- to-three-years in prison and a fine of between 100,000 Pakistani rupees ($360 USD) and 200,000 rupees ($720 USD).

At the time of marriage registration, the marriage solemnizer, secretary of the union council and marriage registrar would check the Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC) of the girl or boy, passport, educational certificate or other documents proving both are at least 18 years old. Attested copies of these documents would be required to be attached with the application of marriage certificate.

Rights activists say that, though raising the legal marriage age to 18 years for both boys and girls will help in preventing child marriages, certain amendments are required to ensure that minority girls also get due coverage of the law. Such amendments would override all “special” laws related to determining a girl’s age of maturity, they say, including Sharia (Islamic law), which allows girls attaining puberty to be considered adults.

Pakistan ranked seventh on Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List of the most difficult places to be a Christian, as it was the previous year.
Sources:Christian Post

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