Unknown assailants sprayed bullets at minorities minister Shahbaz Bhatti a Christian who defied death threats following the murder of another politician opposed to Pakistan’s blasphemy law which carries the death penalty. While no one has been killed for blasphemy the law is used to exploit others motivated by personal enmity or because of business disputes. Controversy flared when Christian mother of five, Aasia Bibi, was sentenced to death for blasphemy following a dispute over land. She was in competition for a valuable piece of land with local Muslims and they accused her of blaspheming against Islam when they failed to gain control of it. Aasia is desperate to have her death sentence overturned, extremists are offering rewards for her killer. Bhatti’s assassination raises fresh questions and concern about the safety of Sherry Rehman, a parliamentarian who also championed reform of the blasphemy laws. She has been living in semi-hiding since January.

Pray: that those who hate justice and detest the truth be silent (Am.5:10) and the establishment of justice to prevent assassination of Christians. (Am.9:14)

More: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iFbLhynC2UCN5TCtTy5sXpEhUPYQ?docId=CNG.e61362f2571b82e187f2be9fe2ed8c2f.4d1

With the hysteria over the arrest of a Christian girl with Down’s syndrome on a charge of blasphemy (See Prayer Alert 34-2012) the body of 11-year-old Samuel Yaqoob was found in Punjab province with his lips and nose cut off, his stomach removed and his legs mutilated. The body was badly burned and relatives identified the corpse from a distinctive mark on the boy’s forehead. Yaqoob, a resident of the Christian Colony of Faisalabad, was last seen on August 20 going to a local market. His remains were found on the last day of Ramadan. Detectives are investigating whether accusations of blasphemy had previously been filed against the minor. When a Christian group is suspected of transgressing the blasphemy laws, the consequences can be brutal, reports the World Public Forum NGO.

Pray: for God to comfort the families and communities touched by this tragedy and for a change in Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. (Ps.123)

More: http://rt.com/news/boy-torture-pakistan-christian-440/

Two health workers and five teachers were shot dead in north-west Pakistan on January 1st. They were all Pakistani citizens and were attacked near a school and clinic, specializing in maternal health. Militants targeting a vaccination programme are suspected. In December a series of attacks killed nine health workers employed in a national polio vaccination drive. Pakistani Taliban have long denounced the vaccination drive as Western plots to gather intelligence or to sterilize Muslim children. The killings have prompted the UN children's agency and the World Health Organization to suspend work on polio campaigns in Pakistan. Pakistan is the only country where there is public opposition to immunization programmes and health workers are paying a heavy price for their efforts. Thousands of them hit the streets every couple of months to immunize children across the country and they do it despite a growing risk to their lives.

Pray: the clerics using FM channels to decry health programmes would stop challenging and resisting those trying to help the poor and sick in deprived areas; may polio be eradicated from Pakistan.

More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20880948

Younis Masih, a Pakistani Christian, who was sentenced to death for alleged blasphemy – he had asked some Muslims to ‘turn down the music’ of a Muslim religious song - and has been suffering in prison for more than seven years, has had his appeal against the death sentence adjourned until February. Mr Masih, who suffered a serious heart attack on January 8, 2013, was in court on January 23, 2013, and one eye-witness, Mr Sardar Mushtaq Gill, an advocate with the Legal Evangelical Association Development (LEAD) team later told Wilson Chowdhry of the British Christian Pakistani Association, about the intimidation that occurred in the courtroom during the hearing. ‘When the call for arguments was made, there were about 40 Muslims present wearing black turbans and were makings gestures and comments with intent to cause fear and apprehension,’ he said.

Pray: that the appeal against Younis would lead to His freedom and release from any further suffering. (2Tim.1:8)

More: http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2013/s13010125.htm

Police in Pakistan charged a young Christian man with blasphemy after an argument with Muslims over a billiards game in Punjab Province’s Sheikhupura district. Sajid Inayat, aged 20 was arrested on Friday (May 18th) and charged with desecrating the Quran under the country’s controversial blasphemy laws. Section 295-B makes wilful desecration of the Qur'an or use of an extract in a derogatory manner punishable with life imprisonment. His relatives told Compass by telephone that he had been falsely accused after an argument with some local Muslim boys over a billiards game just two days before the alleged incident. On Friday he met the Muslim boys with whom he had previously squabbled, they accused him of setting alight ‘holy pages’ placed in a box on an electricity pole. He asked them why he would do such a thing. An argument ensued, a mob gathered and he was arrested. There are no witnesses to the charges made against Inayat.

Pray: that the truth would come out, true justice would be done, and an unjust law would be abolished.(Ps.119:86)

More: http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/pakistan/article_1550261.html

Suspected Islamic militants attacked The Assembly of God (AoG) Pentecostal church in the Swati gate area of Peshwar north western Pakistan early on Friday amid heightened tensions over minorities in the region. Christians said the two attackers tried to enter the building where pastors gathered for a refresher training course. They were stopped by a police guard who was shot three times and died at the scene. They then took his gun, fired at the AoG church building and fled. Christians said the attack followed threats against the AoG prompting local authorities to send two police officers to the church for security. But there was only one on duty during Friday's attack. He’s the latest casualty in an on-going ‘war against terror’ in the province where over 22,000 people have been killed in the past five years. Islamic militants, who rights activists claim have links to government officials, often described Christianity as a ‘Western religion’ and accused Christians of having ties to ‘Western occupiers.’

Pray: against a culture of state sponsored Islam and social and legal repression of Christianity. Pray also that God will protect and sustain Christians. (Ps.140:4-7-8)

More: http://www.worthynews.com/12480-pakistan-militants-attack-pentecostal-church-1-killed

The case of Asia Bibi, the Pakistan Christian mother-of-five who was sentenced to death for alleged blasphemy, has taken an extraordinary turn. According to a story monitored by the ASSIST News Service, Qari Salam, who accused Bibi of blasphemy charges, which resulted in a jail sentence and possible hanging, is reported to have 'ostensibly' regretted filing a blasphemy charge against the impoverished Christian woman. ‘The source of his guilt is the realization that the case was not based on facts but on hyped religious emotions and personal bias of some village women, including his wife.’ Bibi has been languishing in Sheikhupura jail since a sessions court gave her a death sentence for insulting Prophet Muhammad. Qari, according to some of his close friends, was now thinking of not pursuing the case anymore and expressed his desire to some of his friends, only to find himself in a difficult situation when activists of an Islamic religious organization ‘convinced’ him not to change his mind. (See Prayer Alert 10-2011)

Pray: that the case against Asia Bibi will now be dropped and she will be set free. (Ps.142:7)

More: http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2012/s12010128.htm

The Bishop of Peshawar in Pakistan is asking Christians to pray after a church was destroyed. According to Anglican Alliance, thousands of people stormed the compound in Mardan, near Peshawar last week. They burnt down the church and destroyed the homes of two priests and the head teacher of the church school. The attackers also looted newly installed computers from the school before setting it on fire. No one was harmed in the attack but Bishop Humphrey Peters said the damage had been ‘very severe’. ‘We will need to rebuild. We are asking for people around the world to keep us in their prayers,’ he said. ‘The government and faith leaders in Pakistan have a role to play in educating people that they have the right to protest, but to damage property and terrify people in this way is completely wrong. The government and faith leaders should provide the lead in preventing attacks,’ he said.

Pray: that God will come alongside the believers and protect them from those that persecute them. (Ps.119:157)

More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/appeal.for.prayers.after.pakistan.church.stormed/30693.htm

The US State Department has condemned a Pakistani minister's offer of $100,000 (£61,600) for the death of the American maker of an anti-Islam film. It said the step was 'inflammatory and inappropriate’. Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmad Bilour made the offer after a wave of protests against the film across Pakistan and the wider Muslim world. Sunday saw a fresh round of protests over the film in Pakistan, Nigeria, Greece and Turkey. A State Department official told the BBC: ‘The President and Secretary of tate have both said the video at the core of this is offensive, disgusting, and reprehensible - but that is no justification for violence, and it is important for responsible leaders to stand up and speak out against violence.

Therefore we find Mr Bilour's announcement is inflammatory and inappropriate. We note that the Prime Minister's office has disassociated itself from his comments.’

Pray: against inflammatory offers and remarks such as Mr Bilour’s that they would fall on deaf ears and not lead to more violence. (Ps.7:9)

More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19692971