News and Information
30
Jan
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17
Jul
Appeal to Save the life of Nurse Tabeeta Gill and her family
Tabeeta Nazir Gill is a forty-seven-year-old mother of two boys, 14 and 13 yrs. of age. Her husband is fifty
years old. They were born and raised Christians in Pakistan and are rooted
in their faith.
Tabeeta has been falsely charged with Blasphemy under section 295C of the
Pakistan Penal Code punishable by death.
Nurse Tabeeta miraculously managed to narrowly escape the clutches of her
persecutors in Pakistan and is presently in hiding out of the country, subject
to deportation upon the expiry of the temporary visitor visa which would
result in her lengthy incarceration and possible violent death at the hands of
the religious extremists.
Tabeeta is trained and experienced nurse of 20 years. She was employed at
Sobhraj Maternity Hospital Karachi, Pakistan, she served with a passion and
compassion for caring and comforting the sick. She is also a Gospel singer
and is well known in both the Christian and Muslim community.
Due to her dedication to her profession, compassion, and honesty she was
well liked by the patients and the hospital management. This caused some resentment and jealously of her
co-workers who habitually only served patients who paid them for their services even though this was illegal
and against hospital regulations. They ignored the poor patients whose families could not afford to pay these
staff a graft for their services. When Tabeeta tried to reason with them that as nurses they should treat all the
patients equally some of her colleagues at the hospital would become infuriated with her and threatened her
to mind her own business.
17
Jun
Report on Killing of Christian Man in Faisalabad
Unreported by mainstream media the persecution of Christians continues unabated in Pakistan with no public outcry, no acknowledgement by any political leadership, no meaningful action by the police or civil administration of the country.
Life continues as normal, a Christians life seems meaningless to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
On June 17th, 2021, a young Christian boy named Shahzad Masih was brutally tortured and killed by influential local Muslims in a village # 437 near Samundri in District Faisalabad, Pakistan.
The boy was kidnapped, kept tied for three days, denied water, sexually abused and then inserted with fire extinguisher gas in his rectum and thrown in the field near his family home.(more…)
07
May
ANOTHER HEART RENDERING INCIDENT AGAINST A MINOR CHRISTIAN GIRL IN PAKISTAN
It is with profound pain and sadness that International Christian Voice reports that eight (8) year Anum Bibi, a Christian child was subjected to sexual abuse by a twenty two (22) year old Muslim man Mohammad Awais.
According to available reports the poor child along with her parents and ten (10) year old brother Atif Masih went to work the fields where Anum become the victim of brutal incident of rape on Sunday May 02, 2021.
She was threatened by the perpetrator who forcedly raped her and left the girl crying in pain. The aggrieved parents found the girl fainted in the fields and rushed her to the Mother and Child Hospital Sheikhupura.
The father of the girl Allah Ditta Masih reportedly stated that he along with wife Rehana, daughter Anum Bibi and son Atif Masih was working in the field on Sunday May 02, 2021 at about 2:00 pm in the afternoon. Anum and Atif went to fetch water for all of them; they took time in returning back, after an hour Atif returned alone and informed about the incident. He said that Mohammad Awais took Anum in to the other fields forcedly; he beat him severely for helping his sister Anum. The parents rushed to save their daughter to find her raped and laying helpless. She had fainted and bleeding.
05
May
Muslim nurses took over a chapel and threatened to convert it to a mosque
On April 26, a group of Muslim nurses of the Punjab Institute of Mental Health (PIMH) came into the chapel and desecrated the Holy Bible and other sacred items. They continued to recite Na’at (Islamic anthems) for hours in the chapel after accusing three Christian nurses, Sakina, Jessica and Tressa of blasphemy against Islam. The video of the Muslim nurses sitting in the building and reciting Na’at went viral on social media.
The video of the Muslim nurses sitting in the building and reciting Na’at went viral on social media. Sakina Khurram told us that she had shared a post of Arif Ajika, (A YouTube commentator) in her WhatsApp group in which he was sharing his views and criticising the Pakistani government. There were no blasphemous contents of the video, and the other two nurses are accused of liking the same post.
12
Apr
Faisalabad, two Christian nurses accused of blasphemy. One is injured
International Christian Voice is heartbroken at the news of accusations of blasphemy against two Pakistani Christian women, Maryam Lal and Navish Arooj, in Faisalabad, Pakistan today (April 9, 2021). The accusations arose after Navish, a third-year student-nurse, reportedly removed a sticker inscribed with verses from the Holy Quran from a wall at her workplace and allegedly handed it to Maryam, a nurse-in-charge.
An investigation committee was formed at the hospital where a Muslim head nurse and ward boy both claimed to have witnessed Maryam and Navish commit “blasphemous acts” while removing this sticker. The ward boy, Muhammad Waqas, also claims to have been enraged by this and admits to attacking Maryam with a knife, saying he wanted to kill her and that “she was lucky and was only injured” when she fled from the hospital.
22
Feb
In Pakistan, Representation for Religious Minorities Meets New Complications
The much-awaited Pakistan National Commission on Minorities was finally approved in a Federal Cabinet meeting in May 2020, after six years on the fence. Yet while the headline sparks hope – for the minority communities on the ground – the commission is another letdown, as quality did not present itself in the waiting.
The Commission – envisaged in June 2014 by a Supreme Court ruling directing the government of Pakistan to form a commission “to monitor the practical realization of the rights and safeguards provided to the minorities under the Constitution and law” – has fallen flat.
The Commission, which was set up for the minorities, lacks the necessary nuts and bolts to make it effective to ensure “the practical realization” of their rights. Jubilee Campaign echoes the minority community and finds these three major flaws in the “toothless Commission”:
22
Feb
Two Christian men charged under Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy law
In yet another incident of discrimination against minorities in Pakistan, two Christians were charged with the controversial blasphemy law for their alleged insulting remarks against Islam’s holy book and the Prophet.
On Wednesday, Punjab police said that they are seeking the arrest of the two men, who have been identified as Haroon Ayub and Salamat Mansha.
The case was filed last Saturday on the complaint of a local resident, an investigating officer said.
He provided no further details and only said they were still investigating to determine whether the two minority Christians made derogatory remarks about the Quran and Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) during a discussion on religion.
Pakistan’s blasphemy law carries an automatic death penalty for anyone convicted of insulting God, Islam, or other religious figures.
Many members of the minority communities in Pakistan – the Ahmadis, Hindus, Christians, and Sikhs were charged with the blasphemy law. Many of them are languishing in jails on the false charges of disrespecting the Quran.
14
Feb
Tabitha Gill : Wrongly Accused of Blasphemy
Tabitha Gill, Christian a nurse and gospel singer, was falsely accused of committing blasphemy against Islam
International Christian Voice is deeply troubled by the recent news of false accusations of blasphemy leveled at a Christian woman, Tabitha Nazir Gill, in Karachi, Pakistan. y Tabitha Gill, a nurse, was falsely accused of committing blasphemy against Islam on January 28 by her colleague at the Sobhraj Maternity Hospital. The allegation reportedly arose after Ms. Gill reminded her colleague to refrain from accepting money from patients, in accordance with the hospital’s regulations. Having accused her of blasphemy, Ms. Gill’s colleague proceeded to incite violence against her, leading to other staff members allegedly tieing up and beating Ms. Gill before she was taken into police custody.
22
Sep
Summary of Activity – 2020
As we live through the challenges of COVID-19 we are grateful to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ for keeping us safe and healthy during the Pandemic and blessing us with strength to navigate through the challenges and continue our mission of supporting the persecuted Christians stranded in Thailand and those marginalized and suffering in Pakistan for their faith.