CV NEWS FEED // A scathing report by a human rights group has found that Muslim extremists carried out over 70 violent attacks against religious minority Christians living in Pakistan during the first six months of 2024.
In the wake of the devastating Jaranwala attacks in August 2023, Pakistani Christians have continued to experience heightened levels of violent religious persecution throughout the past year.
As Asia News reported in a June 24 article, Dignity First’s biannual “Persecution Watch” report documents more than 70 instances of violent attacks, which have affected several churches and over 140 Christian families.
The non-profit’s Executive Director Yousef Benjamin declared in a statement to Asia News that government authorities must establish “immediate practical measures to ensure protection and religious freedom for minority groups,” in light of the “alarming” attacks.
The report identifies victims of torture, abduction, sexual violence against minors, killings, forced conversions, land grabbing, evictions, and accusations of blasphemy.
Asia News highlights that out of 15 men named in the report who were killed for their faith in Punjab, Quetta, and Balochistan, five were under the age of 25. The report names 12 victims of torture: six men and six women.
The report further describes several instances of sexual abuse of minors throughout the region, including seven from Punjab and one from Sindh, between the ages 11 and 16, who had been abducted and forced to convert to Islam.
Dignity First also specifically highlights the case of a 13-year-old boy who was poisoned for refusing to say an Islamic prayer. As CatholicVote previously reported, the incident occurred on April 13 in the northeast city of Lahore, a Muslim guard forced the young boy to ingest the unknown substance after he refused to recite an Islamic prayer on account of his Christian faith. Several hours later, his parents discovered their son unconscious.
Lastly, the report details multiple instances of blasphemy accusations that have led to violent mob attacks and killings.
Dignity First “calls on the authorities to immediately prevent marginalized sections, eliminate extremism, promote religious tolerance and take immediate practical measures to ensure religious freedom and security.”
