(UCAN): At the start of 2024, Christians in Pakistan bid farewell to a year of violence and mayhem, hoping that a new government will bring respite to their suffering after national elections in February.
Fear and mental trauma continue among Christians in Jaranwala town, where thousands of armed Muslims set fire to at least 19 churches and looted and destroyed hundreds of Christian homes. The violence, which started last August after two Christians were accused of tearing pages of the Quran, displaced hundreds of people. Several have yet to rebuild their homes and come back.
“People are still fearful, and nobody knows what happens next and when will it happen again. Nothing is safe … their lives, properties and their churches,” Kiran Afzaal, a lawyer from Lahore said.
A 24-year-old Catholic woman in Jaranwala, who requested anonymity for safety reasons, said Christians in the area are “still in shock” after the August 16 incident.
The Jaranwala riot was only the latest in a long list of violent incidents targeting Christians.
They face intimidation and threat from Islamic fundamentalists and neglect and apathy from the administration, according to Catholic leaders like Sarfraz Clement, from Multan, Southern Punjab.
Church groups have identified 109 cases of forced conversion cases in the past 11 months. Figures show 25 of them were 14-years-old or younger, while some 60 were aged 14 to 18
“It is visible that hostility against Christians has gone up,” he said.
Christian groups have listed some 25 major incidents, which include physical attacks and kidnapping, and the rape and forcible conversion of Christian girls—sometimes minors—to Islam.
Church groups have identified 109 cases of forced conversion cases in the past 11 months. Figures show 25 of them were 14-years-old or younger, while some 60 were aged 14 to 18.
The incidents of the kidnapping of Hindu and Christian girls, and forced conversion, have become common.
However Kashif Aslam, a Catholic activist in Lahore, noted that the government denies such incidents while parroting the fundamentalist narrative that girls are eloping with Muslim men and converting out of their free will.
False blasphemy allegations and physical attacks are also common, the list shows.
Christian leaders say that in the Muslim-dominated country of 220 million people, political leaders vie with each other to placate radical groups and tend to ignore religious minorities such as Christians and Hindus, who make up less than four per cent of the population.
I cannot understand how a Christmas song can hurt the sentiments of others. However, it is the ground reality and shows that there is no freedom of speech and freedom of expression for minorities
Sunil Malik
“The administration ignores their complaints and they live as second-class citizens,” said Suneel Malik, a human rights defender from Faisalabad.
Malik shared an incident in which, a few days before Christmas, a Christian was playing a Christmas song in his car and a Muslim man rudely asked them to turn it off saying it hurt the sentiments of Muslim people.
“I cannot understand how a Christmas song can hurt the sentiments of others. However, it is the ground reality and shows that there is no freedom of speech and freedom of expression for minorities,” Malik said.
Christian leaders say fundamentalist groups are gaining more ground in society and in the administration, which is threatening the basic rights of minorities.
“That’s a real threat,” said Father Sarfraz Simon from the Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi.
Pakistan sharpened its blasphemy laws in 2023, ignoring pleas to repeal them. Parliament also amended and passed the Criminal Laws [Amendment] Bill, increasing punishment for insulting the Prophet’s companions, wives and family members to 10 years along with a fine of US$4,424.
“The stress levels of [the] Christian community [went] up in 2023,” said Naeem Yousaf Gill, director of the National Commission of Justice and Peace of the Pakistan Bishops’s Conference.
“Accusing some of blasphemy has become the easiest and surest method to attack a community,” Gill explained.
“The Catholic Church is trying to make things better. To address our issues, we need support from the majority community, and we are working in that direction as well,” he said.
Christian leaders agree the general election scheduled for February would be an opportunity for Christians to engage with the political parties and put forward their demands to their local candidates.
“We need to strengthen our political side from the local body system. It will not only ensure our participation in the political process but will provide political leadership as well,” Aslam said.
He wanted Christians to become “proactive rather than reactive.”
“The mainline Churches should form a joint think tank to make a concrete plan for addressing the issues of Christians in Pakistan,” he added.
