At least 85 killed by two Islamic suicide bombers in Pakistan

Two Islamic suicide bombers outside All Saints Church, an Anglican community, killed at least 85 people and wounded 150 others in the Pakistani city of Peshawar on Sunday, September 22nd:

Police said two suicide bombers, each wearing more than 13 pounds of explosives, detonated themselves following a Sunday service as 600 members of the Protestant church gathered on the church lawn for food distribution.

Jundallah, a group linked to the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was in response to U.S. drone strikes, the latest of which Sept. 22 reportedly killed seven people in the tribal area of North Waziristan.

"Until and unless the drone strikes are stopped, we will continue to strike wherever we find an opportunity against non-Muslims," said a Jundallah spokesman [more].

It is possible that number of deceased may reach or exceed 100, according to a report from Aid to the Church in Need, which also provides some additional background:

The explosions struck the church in the Kohati Gate area of Peshawar, just after the morning Communion service had ended.

Peshawar is the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (formerly called the North-West Frontier Province), where Islamist extremist groups have a number of strongholds.

Militant group, Tahrik-e-Taliban Jandullah, claimed to have carried out the bombing in retaliation for U.S. drone strikes.

But a statement by Pakistan’s main Taliban group, Tahrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, made it clear that they took no responsibility the church attack [more].

The New York Times discusses Sunday's attack in relation to other attacks which have been occurring in Pakistan where Christians comprise less than 3% of the total population.

Priests attacked by mob in Pakistan

A Catholic priest and six Church employees were beaten by a mob on Catholic property in Karachi that has been seized illegally:

The Church is seeking help from the authorities after “land mafia” attacked two priests and several parishioners at a Catholic school in Karachi on Monday. 

Father Pervez Khalid, one other senior priest and six Church workers were assaulted by a group 70 people on April 16 after entering the playground of Cardinal Cordeiro High School which has been seized by land grabbers. 

One parishioner in his forties was taken to hospital after receiving several heavy blows.
The trouble began on Sunday when local residents informed Church authorities that people were demolishing a wall at the school which is situated in Karachi’s Korangi town. 

Other men were seen marking out a piece of ground measuring about 2,000 sq m. 

“We went to see where they made the illegal plot markings next day when about 70 men arrived and ordered us to leave. They even damaged the car of a priest who had land documents,” said Fr Khalid of Karachi’s Good Shepherd Parish [more].

Hindu woman forced to convert to Islam

Rinkel Kumari, a 19-yeard old Hindu woman from Mirpur Mathelo in the Pakistani province of Sindh, has appealed to the supreme court in Islamabad.

The drama of Rinkel Kumari, a student of Mirpur Mathelo, a small village in the province of Sindh, began the evening of February 24: A handful of men seized her and delivered her a few hours later into the hands of a wealthy Muslim scholar, the man then called her parents, warning them that their daughter "wants to convert to Islam."

Nand Lal, the girl's father, a teacher of an elementary school, accused Naveed Shah, an influential Muslim, of kidnapping his daughter. The man has the "political cover" provided by Mian Mittho, an elected National Assembly Member, suspected of aiding and abetting. After identifying the perpetrators of the kidnapping of his daughter, he was forced to leave the area of origin to escape the threats of people affiliated with the local mafia. The father found refuge and welcome in Gurdwara in Lahore, in Punjab province, with the rest of his family.

As often happens in these cases, even the judiciary is complicit: a local judge ordered that the girl should be given to the Muslims, because her conversion is "the result of a spontaneous decision" and also stated the marriage was above board. A claim that was repeated on February 27, at the hearing before the court, after which the girl was "renamed" Faryal Shah.

This claim of her "spontaneous" conversion from Hinduism to Islam Kumari vigorously denies.  Addressing the supreme court, she said, "In Pakistan there is justice only for Muslims, justice is denied Hindus. Kill me here, now, in court. But do not send me back to the Darul-Aman [Koranic school] ... kill me."

Policemen rapes Christian girl

During the night of 7/8 March, a Pakistani policemen raped a 14 year old Christian girl, even as an another man bound and gagged her grandparents in another room.  Reports are calling the girl "Kiran" to protect her identity.

From Asia News:

 Nawaz Wahla, a law enforcement official, along with an accomplice Mehboob, a milkman, jumped the fence and broke into the house. According to the newspaper The Express Tribune reports they tied up the grandparents and repeatedly raped the girl, at gun point. 

Once she had escaped, Kiran released the grandparents who have accompanied her to the hospital for medical treatment, however, neither the doctors nor the police wanted to bring relief to the Christian girl, or take action to catch the perpetrators of violence. Only the official opening of the investigation, initiated by a diligent judge allowed the detention of Mehboob - the accomplice - while Nawaz has so far eluded capture.

Two Christians kidnapped in Pakistan

Two Christians were recently kidnapped in Karachi:

Thirty residents of the village of Kot Meerath in the eastern Pakistani province of Punjab brutally tortured Seema Bibi, a Christian woman, and paraded her through the streets because of her “anti-Islam” views. Police have made 26 arrests [more]

Kidnapped Christian back with her family after 10 years

A fifteen year old Christian girl by the name Nadia Bibi was kidnapped in 2001 and forced to marry a Muslim man, Maqsood Ahmed, who beat her and tried to have her convert her parents to Islam.  Thanks be to God, Nadia is now home with her Christian family, but her story is not unique in Pakistan.

After 10 years in December 2011, Nadia found the strength to escape, returning home to her parents. However Maqsood returned with a group of armed men, threatening to kill and kidnap Nadia’s younger sister. The family then fled and turned to the NGO CLAAS (Center for Legal Aid Assistence and Settlement) that protects Pakistani Christians. CLAAS has arranged to host Nadia and her sister in a hidden place, starting a new criminal case against Maqsood.

Commenting on the ten years in which she was forcibly separated from her family, Nadia said:

Maqsood made my life miserable. I was afraid of being killed because Maqsood knew I was not happy with him. I felt totally helpless and I was very confused. Maqsood is inhumane, he has ruined my life. Now I have regained hope and even faith.

Pakistani Bishops call for change in laws to protect Christians

A Catholic member of the Pakistani parliament, Michael Shind, is speaking out against the unacceptable treatment of Christians in his country, largely as a result of the country's anti-blasphemy law.

The Vatican Insider summarized the situation in Pakistan (emphases original):

Children raped and tortured, families extorted, abuse and violence taking place at the expense of terrified victims who remain silent: this is the reality of what is happening to the Christian community in some suburban quarters of Karachi, Southern Pakistan’s biggest city and the capital of the Sindh province.

The Agenzia Fides recently reported that

In 2011, because of the "black law" (composed of the articles 295b and 295c of the Penal Code), at least 161 people were indicted and 9 were killed with extrajudicial executions, the victims of blasphemy accusations. Such accusations, said a Muslim lawyer recently, anonymous for security reasons, "are false in 95% of cases".

In the same article, the Agenzia Fides summarized the findings of the Asian Human Rights Commission regarding the situation in Pakistan during the year 2011:

The year 2011 saw the killing of high profile personalities, such as the governor of Punjab, Salman Taseer and the Federal Minister for minorities, Shabhaz Bhatti, "murders committed by religious extremist groups infiltrated in the police force", notes the Commission. "The state played an ambiguous role to appease the religious extremism and remained a silent spectator of such killings" is what is underlined. "This government's ineptitude - the text continues - has favored forced conversion to Islam of girls from minority religious groups: in total, in 2011, about 1,800 girls between Hindus and Christians, were forced to convert to Islam, with means such as kidnapping and rape".
The Report, recalling the 161 indicted and 9 killed for "blasphemy", notes that "the government has not made any progress on the draconian blasphemy law, which has cost many lives". "Authorities -it states - have taken on, in secret, a paternalistic attitude towards the militant groups. The courts have proven to be friends of the militants and terrorists. In many cases the terrorists were released by the courts, under the guise of formal or procedural deficiencies". The text also mentions hundreds of "honor killing" deaths, the increase in sectarian violence in Karachi (1,800 deaths in 2011) and Baluchistan (225 deaths, more than 6,000 missing).

In light of this, Justice and Peace Commission of the Episcopal Conference of Pakistan issued a statement to the Pakistani government's Federal Ministry for Human Rights calling for  "changes in the Constitution and laws and policies to ensure the restoration of civil, political, social, cultural and economic rights to minorities."

At the same time, the commission also condemned the Pakistani government's recent seizure of Christian lands in Punjab, which some 2,000 Christians recently protested.

Pakistani government bulldozes Church buildings

This morning Punjab officials in Pakistan ordered several families to leave the building in which they slept at 6:30 a.m. and proceeded to demolish every building on a piece of property owned by the Church, including seven houses and a church.

The families are now homeless.

His Excellency the Most Reverend Sebastian Shaw, Archbishop of Lahore, can prove ownership of the property since 1887 and has accused the government of "land-grabbing."

Asia Bibi's lawyer threatened with death

The lawyer of Asia Bibi, a Christian Pakistani woman condemned to death for blasphemy, have also been threatened with death for seeking to prove Bibi's innocence.

The Vatican Insider has a piece coverning the circumstances of Bibi's conviction.

In Pakistan: "Go away or we will kill you and your family"

In the Pakistani city of Lahore, Ilias Bhatti, 36, a Catholic banker, has been threatened with death - and he death of his family - if he does not leave the city.

Muslims have already set fire to his care and threatened next to set fire to his house.  Even his daughter has been threatened with kidnapping.