Friends of the Oppressed

Two Christian men were shot dead as they were leaving a worship service earlier this year.  Both men had families and are now victims of the intense persecution of believers in this region of Pakistan. Please pray for these families as they mourn and that the Lord’s justice might reign over this region.

James 1: 27 “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

Some of the ladies with their gifts.

Just a few days ago, two destitute Christians were kidnapped and severely tortured by Muslim money lenders over an issue of late payment.  They were detained in a remote area of the city by their captors.  Fortunately, they managed to escape, but one of the men sustained traumatic head injuries and is now in serious condition.  His family has gone into hiding for fear of their lives.

The two Christian men in question are victims of poverty in Pakistan, and were forced to take the loans in order that they might merely survive.  In addition, elderly people in the homes of these Christian men were sick and in need of medical care.  The circumstances they found themselves in forced them to take the loans at a high interest rate.

The money lenders, when the money was issued, took the thumb signatures of both men on blank government stamp paper, telling the men that they could write whatever conditions they desired on the paper, should the money not be repaid.  And if they told anyone, they were warned that the consequences would be even more drastic.

Our field partner has taken upon himself the responsibility of caring for and advocating on behalf of these two men.  He has informed the police and relevant authorities of the details of their torture, including the placement of thick woolen rods into their mouths during the torture, in order that they may obtain the appropriate certification for medical treatment.

This particular group of money lenders is very dangerous and well connected, and it is the expectation of our field partner that they will continue to kidnap Christian women from their homes in order to sexually exploit them.  He has informed us that this is a common practice among these money lenders when Christians, forced to take these high interest loans because of their impoverished situation, are unable to make the payments.  The Christians who take these loans are bound to their creditors for many years, unable to pay them back.  They become the practical slaves of these money lenders.

And it is for this reason that Friends of the Oppressed is bringing this issue to the attention of our readers.  The families of these Christians are traumatized.  The most recent threats from the money lenders include the slashing of throats and the continued kidnapping and exploitation of the Christian women.  On behalf of our Christian brothers and sisters suffering through this ordeal in Pakistan, we appeal to our readers for their help and prayers.

Please keep our Christian brothers and sisters, and this troubling situation they find themselves in, in your prayers in the coming weeks.  And please continue to pray for our field partner, who continues to valiantly put himself on the line for Christ and His Kingdom.  Thank you.

On February 18, 2009, a high number of police raided the house of one of our field partners.  They opened the cupboards and made a mess of the entire house. The police were there to harass the family on the pretext that our field partner’s brother had robbed a cell phone shop at gun point in his own neighborhood. The angry policemen pushed our field partner’s brother out the window of their home.  This caused the victim to sustain serious leg, foot, and ankle injuries that he continues to suffer from today.

The balcony is where the victim was thrown from.

The victims feet and legs sustained serious injuries from the fall

The victim and his brother were injured during the raid, taken to a government-run hospital, and arrested.  His brother was later released.  The Medico Legal Officer (MLO) asked for a bribe from the victim’s family in order to treat the victim or issue a medical certificate.  Since the family could not pay the bribe, the MLO made an adverse report that would go against the victim in court and told the police he was perfectly fine and didn’t need to be admitted to the hospital.

The police then took the victim to the police station and tortured him further. Since he was already suffering from a leg injury, they targeted his legs and feet while torturing him.  They also tortured him psychologically.

The radiological report of the B.H.Y Hospital and medical examination report of the Karachi District Headquarters Hospital, proved that both of his ankle bones were broken during the “police torture.”  After his arrest, the victim was held in the Karachi Jail and during that time he went through immense mental and physical pain as an inmate. The jail staff, hired by the police, nailed the victim’s badly injured legs to the wall because he couldn’t pay the money/bribe they were asking for. The brutality he witnessed among the Christian prisoners was extremely disturbing.

He was given pain killer injections because the pain he had been through, according to a witness, was “unbearable.”  One of the prisoners who was taking care of him, helping him use the restroom, said that he was like a “fish out of water.” The doctor of the jail demanded money in order to treat him.  The plaster on his legs needed to be changed but he was denied the much needed treatment while in the prison.

It is noteworthy to point out that the shop the victim was accused of robbing doesn’t exist at all.   It was only in the report to get the Christian in trouble.

The case against this young Christian man is absolutely false.  The police and other forces are hell bent on persecuting Christians and using them to fulfill their evil designs.  This is because Christians in Pakistan are seen as soft targets who are fear-stricken and can not defend themselves.

Thanks to Risen Lord that this Christian man was exonerated after the ordeal.

Because of his unpleasant incident, the father of the victim, who is already a cardiac patient was admitted to the hospital because he was suffering from severe anxiety for his son.

The family of the victim has never given up hope in Jesus Christ and have vowed that they will continue to serve the Lord Jesus and the persecuted Christians.  They want to rescue their suffering brothers and sisters in the Lord.  That is why they are working hard to commence an effective Legal Aid Program to help the oppressed minorities.

This program will help comfort victims of persecution and their families and will  help our field partner pursue legal battles on behalf of the oppressed and persecuted Christians. Our field partner would also like to commence a prison ministry in order to alleviate the sufferings of Christian prisoners in Pakistan.

Please pray for the possibility of a Legal Aid Program and for the support which it needs.  If you are interested in supporting Friends of the Oppressed and their efforts to start a Legal Aid Program and/or Prison Ministry in Pakistan please email us at servant@friendsoftheoppressed.org

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On January 16, 2011, the funeral was held for the boy we’ve been posting about.  He was kidnapped from his home, tortured, raped, murdered, and then found laying in a drainage or sewage ditch.  The boys family are Christians in a very anti-Christian region of the world and this case is believed to be a case of persecution.  The perpetrator of the crime is a police officer.  Below are photos of the boys funeral in which over 1,000 people gathered to pay their respects as well as protest against the crime.  Our field partner is working with the family to try and secure a lawyer to represent them in court.

Protesters carrying a cross

Protesters carry photos of the boy who was killed

Over 1,000 people were assembled for the funeral/protest

The victims coffin being carried

The grave site

Mourning

“It is only the Lord who is protecting us and enabling us to carry on our work for the persecuted brethrens.”–Friends of the Oppressed Field Partner

This post is a follow-up on our recent story of a 16-year-old Christian boy in Pakistan who was kidnapped, raped, tortured, and then murdered, all by a local police officer.  The victim’s family was so tormented by the event, that they requested our field partner accompany them to retrieve the body of their boy. Below are some photos taken of the victim’s body, showing the brutality he suffered. Please continue to pray for the family of this boy.

Our field partner  has given us some information on a devastating event that took place in Gojra, Pakistan in 2009.  Please read the report and view the newspaper clips.

On July 30, 2009, more than 500 Muslim Extremists attacked and burned more than 45 Christian houses – killing at least seven Christians. They also desecrated two churches in Korian village, Gojra.

The incident was triggered by an announcement in the local mosque that Christians desecrated the Qur’an during a wedding ceremony on July 25. One day before the incident, a Muslim family went to the bride’s house and accused them of desecrating the Qur’an. The Christians denied the false allegation, but the Muslim family began beating them.

The local mullah, a Muslim priest, of a Mosque then gave the Christian “infidels” a choice: leave the village or they would die.

“Let’s teach the infidels’ an exemplary lesson,” the mullah announced from his mosque. Hundreds of Muslims answered the call.

They attacked Christian houses, first looting all valuables, then setting the houses on fire. The Christians fled, leaving everything behind.

The body of a three year old Christian girl was found in the field.  She was killed after being brutally raped.

Plus, they made fun of a Christian women who was having a bath during the attack.  They pulled the women out of bathroom and made her run and beg before them for her life and she was literally naked.

Entire roofs had collapsed. Only an elderly couple remained in the village because Sharif Masih (80) was paralyzed and his wife, Hanifa Bibi (73), begged the mobsters to spare their lives.

The mobsters then left them. The houses were set on fire, firefighters could not reach the scene because the assailants blocked the highway.

On August 1, Muslims organized a demonstration to protest the alleged desecration of Qur’an. The angry mobsters were demanding the arrest of the people responsible for profaning the Qur’an in Korian village.

The angry protesters also blocked railway lines, stranding the train in the station.

Quyyum then watched as Provincial Minister of Minorities, Kamran Michael, and former Chief Minister, Dost Muhammad Khosa arrived at the scene, trying to calm down the attackers.

But they did not listen; instead, they beat several prominent figures. The police fired tear gas to disperse the mob, but it did not work. The attackers ran toward the Christian town to wreak havoc. They attacked the Christian Town, in Gojra, Toba Tek Singh district.

Charred bodies of men, women, and children were found in the rubble.

The assailants involved members of the banned outfit Sipah-e-Suhaba. They were fully equipped with automatic weapons and highly flammable materials.

The banned group looted houses and then used the flammable materials to burn them while there was women and children inside.

The presidential spokesperson and former senator, Farhatullah Babar, said that the President had taken strict notice of the incident. He said that the President had asked the provincial government to launch an inquiry into the matter. But the committee did not include any member from the Christian community, and no police complaint was registered against the attackers.

He said that he did not know about the incident, but that a team would be dispatched. The firefighters and rescue teams arrived only after the attackers were gone. The police, acting as silent spectators, lulled the angry protesters for a while, and then fled the scene. The unrestricted ransacking took place for two to three hours.

Efforts to File Police Complaint Against Mobsters

After the bodies were brought to the Christian Town, the administration forced Christians to conduct funerals quickly. When the Christians saw that the government was using delay tactics, refusing to file any charges against the attackers, the Christians took all seven bodies to the railway track and told the administration that they would not leave until their demands were met.

Prominent Christians told the crowd that a First Information Report (“FIR”) had been registered and that the protest should be called off.

The people, however, would not stop the protest until they saw a copy of the FIR containing the names of the mobsters and the negligent police officials. Finally, the FIR was registered against 20 named and 800 unidentified people.

The government authorities later announced that, after investigation, no desecration of Qur’an had taken place.

Like always the perpetrators of this crime are not caught yet.

This is the true face of Muslims and Islam.

On January 7, 2011 a young 16 year old Christian boy was kidnapped in front of his house by a local police man who took him to some unknown place.

The kidnapped the Christian boy, raped and tortured him for a day, then murdered him and threw the boy’s body into the big, dirty sewage line.

He was shot from a very close range.

Like ever before, the police and the Muslims of the area came to threaten the family of the victim to prevent their efforts in lodging the First Information Report.

A gang of mostly young Muslims, along with the culprits relatives, all armed with guns threatened the victims family.  This is very common in Pakistan, especially Karachi.

The police mocked the victim’s family, simply because they were Christians, referring to them as “choora.”  This is a derogatory term is used for Christians in Pakistan and means “the one who sweeps or clean restrooms, a janitor, or unholy/unclean.

The case was registered and the culprit was caught by the police. In the media and due to the intervention of some people, the culprit said in his statement that he was just checking the pistol and the victim was shot accidentally.

When the body of the victim was taken to the government run hospital for examination the marks of torture were evident but the doctor tried to avoid the Christian relatives of the victim. After their consistent efforts, the doctor quickly looked at the body and simply issued a death certificate.

Our demand is that the autopsy should be conducted honestly and that the medical examiner is extending favor to the Muslim police man.

Our field partner has visited Muslim politician and called the chief officer of the victim’s town in order to get the autopsy report done honestly.  He also highlighted the case in the local media as an actual Christian persecution case.  Rather than the way it was previously being highlighted which was; some unknown man’s dead body was found in the sewage line of that area.

Our field partner is in contact with the victim’s dad has tried to console him. He is working very hard to advocate for this issue so they can get justice, which is an extremely difficult thing in this country for Christians to have.

This is the 6th or 7th case of this nature to recently occur in the area of Pakistan where our field partner lives and advocates for the rights of minority groups.

A NOTE FROM OUR FIELD PARTNER:

“Do keep the entire situation in your prayers the victim’s family and for me as well.  Because they keep us in their eyes.  That’s why I read Psalm 91 and Psalm 23 everyday in my early morning prayers.”

(Below are a couple of photos showing the people who showed up to give their condolences to the victim’s family.)

Please scroll through and view some photos our field partner took while visiting flood victims in Pakistan over the summer.

Our apologies for getting behind on posts!!  Please browse the next several stories to catch up on what’s happened with our friends in Pakistan since the end of November.

A Christian teenager convicted of blasphemy against Islam was still recovering Sunday, November 28, after Muslim inmates nearly stoned him to death in a prison in Pakistan’s northwest Punjab province.

Imran Masih, a 19-year-old Christian man, was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit following the October 29th assault.

“Imran Masih was brought to the hospital in a very serious condition,” doctor said.

Masih, a resident of Hazro near Attock, was detained after a July 2009 incident at a barbershop. The owner, identified as Nadeem Haider, accused him of stealing 5,000 rupees ($60), Christians said. Haider, who had been pressuring Masih to convert to Islam, had the Christian arrested, according to investigators.

POLICE PAID

The owner allegedly paid a senior police officer to torture Imran Masih. Soon a simple case of robbery was turned into blasphemy, with police saying he had spoken against Islam’s prophet Muhammad, his father Baharat Masih said.

A court eventually sentenced Masih to 10 years imprisonment under Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws.