Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Lahore (Agenzia Fides) - Protestant Christian Pastor Aftab Gill and three other Christians from Gujrat, in Punjab, Pakistan, have been accused of blasphemy. They are accused of having used the word "rasool" (apostle) during an event made public by their community, the "Biblical Church of God". According to local Muslims the use of the word "rasool" is considered blasphemous because the term is used as an attribute of the Prophet Muhammad. Unitan Gill, Pastor Aftab’s younger brother, was arrested but, as reported to Fides, the NGO CLAAS (Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement) has managed to get bail.
According to local Christians, Muslims were angry and were planning to burn the houses and the church of the Christians but, thanks to the timely intervention of the police, the situation did not degenerate in a tradgedy. Some Christian families are still fleeing for safety reasons.
Nasir Saeed, director of CLAAS notes that "the word rasool was used several times in the Bible in Urdu as a translation of 'apostles' and 'followers', and therefore the Christians had no blasphemous intention". (PA) (Agenzia Fides 20/08/2015)
