Christians want peace in Pakistan

Pakistan: Church planters receive death threats as religious persecution increases

 Carey Lodge CHRISTIAN TODAY JOURNALIST 

13 May 2015

Christian leaders in Pakistan have received death threats for their involvement in church planting, leading a country expert to warn that religious minorities are facing worse conditions day by day.

Javed David has been building churches in poor communities for the past two years, but says he is becoming increasingly afraid of the consequences, particularly in the wake of the double suicide bomb attacks on churches in Lahore, where he lives, in March.

"After the tragedy in Youhanabad [a Christian majority suburb of Lahore], circumstances have changed and now there is more fear," David told Asia News. He has personally received two threats on his life since February. Once, a motorcyclist threw a piece of paper though his car window, reading: "This is an Islamic nation. We cannot allow church building. Either you convert to Islam or you leave this country! Stop building churches or you'll pay the consequences!"

In a second incident on April 4, another motorcyclist told him: "We know what you are doing here. Stop building churches. Convert to Islam, which is the true religion. Otherwise we will make a horrible example of you."

One of David's colleagues, Ata-ur-Rehman, has also received threats. He said that though there has been some resistance from members of the local Muslim community, Christians and Muslims largely live in peace together. He did, however, express concern about "rising religious intolerance".

"My family and I are scared and worried because I continue to receive threats," David added. "Where can we go to enjoy religious freedom? This is our country; we have lived here for generations."

"Still, I dedicated my life to Christ and I shall continue to serve His people, no matter what happens."

Pakistan has long struggled with discrimination against religious minorities, and a report released in December last year said an "oppressive environment" was making it "increasingly difficult for many religious communities to live securely and free from danger in places where they have often spent the majority of their lives."

The Minority Rights Group and International and Sustainable Development Policy Institute said that "violent attacks against religious minorities occur against a backdrop of legal and social discrimination in almost every aspect of their lives, including political participation, marriage and freedom of belief," and called for increased protections for all citizens.

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) two weeks ago urged the Obama Administration to designate Pakistan a "country of particular concern" and also blamed the Pakistani government for failing to provide adequate protection to targeted groups.

"Pakistan's legal environment is particularly repressive due to its religiously discriminatory constitutional provisions and legislation, including its blasphemy laws," the USCIRF's annual report said.