ASIA/PAKISTAN - New arrests and violence against Christians for alleged blasphemy

Lahore (Agenzia Fides) – The arrests of Christians falsely accused of blasphemy continues. According to new cases one of the victims is the young Christian Naveed John, 24, accused and arrested in Sargodha, Punjab.
According to a widespread practice among Christian Pentecostal and charismatic groups, the young man was praying in private for another person, asking God to free the person from physical and spiritual illness. Often followers of different religions, including Muslims went to his house and asked him to pray for them. One of them, a police officer in disguise denounced Naveed saying he had insulted the Koran. As reported to Fides by the NGO LEAD, also the victim's family is now under threat.
In another case, a Pakistani Christian and his family were forced to leave their home to escape the wrath of a crowd of Muslims who accused them of blasphemy. The case occurred in Wazirabad, Punjab, where Aftab Gill, 40 went to draw clean water from the fountain belonging to a mosque, like many others in the community. A Muslim said: "Christians are not allowed to use that water, otherwise you infidels contaminate it. If you want, you have to convert to Islam". Gill and his children refused. In less than no time about 200 men gathered to attack Gill and his family, accusing them of blasphemy. The police had to intervene to save the family from being lynched.
"The blasphemy law in Pakistan is promoting a climate of intolerance, generating a wide range of violations of human rights including the rights to freedom of expression and religion", says to Fides Christian lawyer Sardar Mushtaq Gill, head of LEAD. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 15/10/2015)

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