Displaying items by tag: Pakistan

In a highly biased legal system where Christians are normally denied fair trials, the family of a Christian youth killed by police may actually receive justice. Six officers were charged with murder after they dragged Arslan Masih out of his schoolroom, intent on revenge. He had successfully fought a Muslim boy who had been bullying him, and one officer, the boy’s uncle, found it unacceptable that Arslan had stood up to his nephew. Arslan was regularly bullied and in this instance fought in an attempt to stop the daily torment and attempts to convert him to Islam. He is not the first Christian to have died in Pakistan’s police custody, but it is the first time it has happened with many witnesses.

Christian High School Student Killed in Pakistan

The father of a 17-year-old Christian who was killed in a school in Pakistan by at least one Muslim classmate said the attack was religiously motivated, a charge that police dispute.

Ilyasab Masih (father of the victim) stated that a teacher had set sent a strong non-verbal message of anti-Christian hostility by hitting and humiliating his son, Sharoon Masih, the day before the assault on Aug. 27.

Pray: for God’s comforting presence over all those grieving the loss of Sharoon Masih;

Pray: that the authorities will take action against the unjustified killing, and the perpetrator will be brought to justice.

Christian Father of Two in Pakistan Sentenced to Death for ‘Blaspheming’

Prophet of Islam

Christian father of two in Pakistan has been sentenced to death for blaspheming Islam’s prophet in a phone text even though he is illiterate, sources said.

Nadeem James, 27, was charged in July 2016 in Gujrat District after a friend, Yasir Bashir, complained to police that he received a poem via WhatsApp instant messaging that was derogatory towards Muhammad and other revered Islamic figures.  Court sentenced James to death on Thursday (Sept. 14), as per sources.

Pray: that God would strengthen and comfort James and his family members during these trying times;

Pray: that the authorities will take measures to amend these stringent laws;

Pray: that authorities would intervene and release James;

WEA RLC Prayer News | Religious Liberty Prayer News

A brother in Pakistan writes, ‘Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif continues to resist being thrown out of government for corruption. He denies the accusations, and is still trying to run the party. His children are bringing court cases and running for office, as is his wife. Pray that the country will not be torn apart. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi is now PM. He received two degrees from the USA and then worked there for several years before working in Saudi Arabia’s oil business. He was formerly minister of petroleum and natural resources. May his years in the US be the basis for good relationship between the two countries. Weeks after he came to office, President Trump delivered his Afghanistan policy, accusing Pakistan of supporting state terrorism. Pakistan has had more military and civilians killed by terrorists than any other country, and the nation took this as an affront.’

It is called the largest mass poisoning in history. Wells drilled in the Indian subcontinent in the 1970s exposed millions to arsenic leaching into their drinking water from surrounding rocks and soil; this has caused skin lesions, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and neurodevelopmental delays. A new study now suggests that up to sixty million Pakistanis might also be exposed to contaminated water. The World Health Organisation warned in the 1990s that up to 77 million people in Bangladesh were in danger of drinking water with unsafe levels of arsenic, and 200 million people in Nepal, Bangladesh, India and Vietnam were exposed to concentrations exceeding the recommended limit. Experts hope this new study will motivate Pakistan’s authorities to test wells in high-risk areas and to warn communities. If people are aware of the risks they could use water from deeper aquifers that are in contact with older sediments, or invest in treating groundwater to remove arsenic.

The Commission on International Religious Freedom has issued a report on blasphemy laws globally. The five worst-scoring nations are Iran, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, and Qatar, while 71 of the world's 195 countries penalties ranging from fines to imprisonment and death. In Indonesia the influence of radical Islam is being felt, with some districts adopting highly restrictive bylaws; but, praise God, a Jakarta Baptist pastor reports that Christianity is growing there. Pakistan’s Christians fear a rise in persecution after the removal of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Pray for God to cover them with His canopy, particularly the growing 24/7 prayer cells. The Iranian government is particularly concerned about the rise of Christianity, especially among youths. Islamic seminary officials are calling on the government to ‘stop the spread’ of the faith. Ask God to release even more of His angels into the battle between dark and light over Asia.

My word …will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.  Isa 55:11  

TRANSLATION OF THE SCRIPTURES

This is one of the areas that the devil tries the hardest to stop. People come to believe through God’s Word.   It is very hard to sustain a church (new believers) unless they have the Word in their own language. Those doing this work are asking for prayer for each of the groups they are working in.

Translation is being done for 15 different groups, some are large groups, others are smaller.  In two of the groups each time a project like this was started the devil blocked it.

PRAY

• Pray that the work might not be blocked by the evil one by sickness, death, family problems, or in any other way.  
• Pray for heath for all those involved
• Pray for those teaching them how to do this work, that they may be able to stay in country and not lose their papers
• Pray for those learning to learn quickly and well
  
  • Persistence - this is a long process
  • Completion of each project

JESUS FILM PROJECT

The translation of the film for Muslims.  Changes are being made on physical things in the film that are offensive to them (like Jesus going into the temple with shoes on, hand actions, etc). Some of these changes could cost up to a million dollars, but the suggestions have been well received. Then language is needed that is acceptable and not offensive.  Pray for this huge project   Pray for wisdom from God to see and make the right suggestions.

STABLE GOVERNMENT  

The Prime Minister is being accused of money laundering and corruption (he has been thrown out twice before for this).  Opposition parties are against him. A high percentage of the lawyers are against him.  It has been on the floor of Parliament again and again, and is supposed to come up for the final time on the 17th. PRAY God’s will:  If he is thrown out who would take his place?  It would probably be much harder for Christians and foreign workers.

Thanks for PRAYING for PAKISTAN!!

Irfan Masih, a Christian sanitation worker, died at a hospital in Sindh on 1 June after he was refused treatment by the duty doctors. Sanitation jobs are considered 'unclean' and are often reserved for religious minorities. He fell unconscious after inhaling toxic fumes from a manhole he was cleaning without using protective equipment. When he arrived at the hospital he was covered in sludge. The doctors refused to treat him because he was unclean, and asked family members to clean his body first. Then the oxygen cylinder which was ordered was found to be empty, and before another could be delivered, Mr Masih died. The Christian community in Pakistan faces widespread institutional discrimination in religious, societal, economic and political spheres. Many Christians are employed in ‘unclean’ occupations, and employers have been accused of allowing them to work in highly dangerous conditions with little or no protective gear. Three hospital employees and three employees of the local municipal committee have been arrested. The staff allege that Mr Masih was already dead when he was brought to the hospital.

A 34-year-old Christian, Ijaz, who had fled Pakistan for fear of persecution, received news on 26 May that his application for refugee status had been refused. The next day he died at the Immigration Detention Centre (IDC) in Bangkok. Some months earlier he complained of chest pains and was hospitalised, but doctors could not diagnose his problem. At the IDC, he was put in the punishment room because he could not pay his hospital bill. Eventually his local church in Bangkok paid the bill, with help from Barnabas Fund. The IDC doctor refused to allow his pastor to bring him medicine. Around 4,000 Pakistani Christians have fled persecution and made their way to Thailand, only to find that they are treated as criminals there. Immigration police carry out arbitrary mass arrests, even raiding worship services, searching for people without valid visas. Detainees are held in such harsh and horrifically overcrowded conditions that some have chosen to go back to Pakistan and face persecution. One source said that this desperate decision is often made because they are not receiving treatment for life-threatening medical conditions. ‘It is a 21st century concentration camp, without the gas chambers’, he said.

A prayer leader writes: ‘Many were praying for safety and no attacks during the Easter days. NL was a medical student who got involved with Daesh in Hyderabad and married a terrorist. Three days before Easter they went to Lahore, intending to bomb a big church, but a relative informed the police, saying she was acting strangely. The police followed this lead, and there was a shootout with the couple. The husband was killed, but NL was taken alive. The church was safe. Also on a more spiritual theme, at the medical school in Hyderabad one girl who had attended our prayer seminars decided to start a 24/7 prayer group in Hyderabad with medical students attending. It has become so strong that women from the outside asked to join, and it now has 150+ members.’

“Rescue me, O LORD, from evil men; protect me from men of violence,”  Psa 140:1

 Let’s pray about world peace and the central role Pakistan plays. Eastern side - WAR BETWEEN INDIA AND PAKISTAN - Both countries have fought two wars over Kashmir that involves the rights of who controls the water of the five rivers that flow into Pakistan.

Shortly after Pakistan was created the U.N. and the World Bank established the “Indus Treaty.” The rivers first flow through India and then into Pakistan.  India was to get the water from two of the rivers. They are now taking water from all five of the rivers.

Without water the people perish.  The prime ministers in each country have brought this up in recent weeks again and again.  The Indian P.M. has said  several times that he does not care about the Indus Treaty - India will take  all of the water.  Some have referred to the “Zero Line” (where the Indus  River passes through Kashmir) as the biggest potential for World War III.  Both  countries have threatened to go to war using their nuclear weapons; this would  draw in many other countries. Even more alarming is the fact that China is diverting water from the Tibetan plateau for their own use.  Almost half of the  world’s population depends on the water from this plateau.

 (See the following videos) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dtsqwvOJfc   (the last 4 min)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2BMvL8gJxI

PRAY   For the resolution over the water problems of these two countries.

PRAY for peace between these two countries.

Western side - TERRORIST WAR - AFGHANISTAN AND PAKISTAN - Terrorism will not be stopped until there is peace between these two countries. Along the border these people are relatives and move back and forth between these two counties with ease.  When NATO was in Afghanistan the terrorists moved and operated out of Pakistan.  When NATO left Afghanistan, Pakistan’s new military commander in chief did a superb job of cleaning out the terrorists on the Pakistani side of the border.  But the majority of the terrorists moved to Afghanistan. Until both governments work together it will be difficult to resolve this.

PRAY both countries will work together to resolve the terrorist issue and bring peace, that affects both countries and the world.

PRAY Pakistan’s new military commander-in-chief will continue to bring down the terrorists.

VISAS – There are still problems for missionaries getting visas.  It seems to be every mission is having trouble throughout the country no matter what kind of work they are doing.  Some have been promised visas even by the prime minister, and then this promise has been broken.  

PRAY for God to intervene and visas to be granted

PRAY for those in this department that are blocking this.