Displaying items by tag: Pakistan

Thursday, 09 January 2020 23:52

Pakistan / Afghanistan: the Bible in Pashto

For the first time since 1890 the full Pakistani Pashto Bible will be printed. The translation is in the major Yousafzai dialect of Pashto. Up to now missionaries and evangelists and the underground Pakhtun speaking Church only had a version of the New Testament in a mix of Pakistani and Afghan Pashto. This version, aimed at Pakhtuns living outside Pakistan, will be printed in Europe. It is hoped that the Bibles will be ready to transport to mission agencies in spring 2020. For security reasons, the name of the translating organisation is not available.

Published in Praise Reports
Friday, 03 January 2020 10:12

Pakistan: police help Christian

In a rare move, police stepped in to stop Muslims attacking Amir Masih, a Christian sanitation worker, after he was falsely accused of ‘blasphemy’. The charges were dropped immediately after police investigations found that the pages of the Quran which he had in his possession were found in a rubbish bag he collected from local homes as part of his duties. Amir took the pages to a Muslim-owned shop to confirm whether they were from the Quran, but was accused by the shop owner of being an ‘unclean rubbish collector’ and dragged to the local mosque. The imam made a loudspeaker announcement that ‘a blasphemous Christian had been stopped’, calling on other imams to punish him and burn local Christian homes. But police stepped in and saved him from harm and possible life imprisonment.

Published in Praise Reports
Thursday, 19 December 2019 23:41

Pakistan: Christian media

Christians in the world’s 6th largest nation make up just 2.5% of the population. Many are poor and experience discrimination because of their faith. The struggle to survive is silencing the voices and eroding the faith of many young people. But also there are remarkable leaders emerging in the Church - strong in the Lord, intellectually bright, culturally aware. PAK7 is a new approach to strengthen and support the Church in Pakistan and her witness for Christ to 200 million countrymen, many of whom know nothing about Jesus. It empowers young Pakistani Christians in the use of media so that they have strong faith, confident voices, and a platform to explain who they are, what the Bible means to them, and the difference Jesus makes in their lives. Click the ‘More’ button to watch a short video about PAK7’s work.

Published in Praise Reports
Thursday, 19 December 2019 22:11

Vulnerable churches at Christmas

Here are a few of the many incidents of Christmas attacks on Christians in 2018. Two days before Egypt’s Christian celebrations, a specialist in mine clearance died defusing a bomb hidden next to a church in Cairo. On 24 December a Methodist church in Bury offering night shelter to homeless refugees was attacked by arsonists who also stole their laptop and projector equipment. In Indonesia over 90,000 police and soldiers helped guard 50,000 churches across the country, including those previously attacked by terrorists. In India on 23 December a mob attacked forty people worshipping at a church in Kowad, injuring ten people. Militants increase their attacks on Nigerian churches at this time, and in Pakistan a planned attack was foiled in Karachi. See

Published in Worldwide
Thursday, 21 November 2019 22:43

Pakistan: Christian’s murder is covered up

The family of 18-year-old Akash, a Christian working at a bakery, claim their son was murdered by Muslim co-workers. ‘My son was an expert at baking and his expertise was liked by the customers, but he faced religious discrimination and jealousy at work’, says Sarwar, Akash’s father. On 24 September, the bakery informed Sarwar that his son was not well and had been taken to hospital. When he arrived there, his son was already dead. He attempted to investigate, but the bakery said, ‘We will teach you a lesson if you go for legal course against us.’ The police claim that Akash committed suicide. A video of his body was released on Facebook, showing signs of torture on his back and neck. The video has gone viral. Sarwar’s application to exhume Akash’s body for investigation has been denied by the court - delaying tactics to nullify evidence.

Published in Worldwide
Thursday, 10 October 2019 21:21

Pakistan: Christian children given Islamic names

Bishop Samson Shukardin of Hyderabad told Aid to the Church in Need that abuse was an issue for minority students at public schools. He said that Christian parents in the country are resorting to giving their children Islamic names to prevent them suffering ‘abuse’ at school. With Islamic names, they will not be singled out as Christians and become potential targets for discrimination in primary or secondary schools or colleges. The bishop said that even school textbooks portrayed minorities in a negative light, and they are considered as infidels. The fundamentalists believe that Islam is the only complete religion - that salvation is only found in the Qur'an as the last holy book. Therefore most minorities, particularly Christians, are persecuted, and some religious minorities are at risk of being kidnapped.

Published in Worldwide
Thursday, 29 August 2019 11:23

India: Pray for Kashmir

Christians around the world ought to pray for Kashmir as tensions in the region have spiked since Aug. 5, when India removed its long-established "special status," bringing the India-administered areas of Kashmir into direct control of the central government.

The decision exacerbated India's already strained relationship with Pakistan and prompted Pakistan's prime minister to threaten to globalize the issue and alarmingly escalate the situation by stating that "Pakistan would keep all options on the table."

I'm calling on Indian, Pakistani and all Christians to a simple task that transcends the complexity of the issue and the emnity that has long existed between our countries because of it.

Christians ought to pray to Jesus—the "Prince of Peace" - that peace would reign in our countries and in our region as God has called each of us to "seek peace and prosperity" for our countries, according to Jeremiah 29:7. The prophet continues, "Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper."

And I'm calling them to do so intensely. Since the British partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947, India and Pakistan have fought three wars over the Kashmir region. Hundreds of thousands of civilians and military officers have died on both sides of the border in armed conflicts and episodes of inter-communal violence. The last thing the region needs is another war, especially when both nations have nuclear weapons.

All of this has been especially complicated in recent years by cross-border terrorism as Pakistan's prime minister himself recently recognized that 30,000-40,000 terrorists operate on Pakistani soil.

Putting it all together, in just over 25 years over 45,000 people in Jammu & Kashmir have died in cross-border militant encounters between the countries and from terrorist attacks originating in Pakistan. When India cites national security concerns for its decisions in Kashmir, it's not without cause.

Yet, the status-quo situation in Kashmir has long been unsustainable, and by some act of divine providence maybe this disruption could result in a solution as the Indian government and the people of India embrace Kashmiris as fellow citizens of India.

That, however, might require a divine miracle, a miracle entirely unlikely if God's people do not pray.

And as they pray for a peaceful and permanent resolution to this intractable conflict, they should keep in mind that the security situation remains tense as curfews are still imposed, as new questions have arisen about the citizenship rights of some people living in Kashmir, and as India's national leadership and judiciary deal and work through the implications of the decision made by the government.

They should also pray for Christians, Hindus, Muslims and others whose religious freedom has sometimes been caught up in these political conflicts.

Ultimately, Christians should pray that no one will give license to hate in any form, always recognizing the inherent dignity in every human being and their God-given freedom of conscience.

As a Christian leader, I'm grateful for the generosity and kindness shown by our Christian friends around the world to commit our strong, yet also delicate, region to the hand of almighty God.

May we, as the apostle Paul prayed, have the privilege to "lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way" (1 Tim. 2:2b, ESV).

Joseph

Friday, 09 August 2019 13:19

India: Unrest

Jammu and Kashmir (JK) is in militarised Kashmir, an Indian region dividing India and Pakistan. On 5 August Indian authorities revoked JK’s special status that had allowed them to make their own laws, and anticipating resistance they imposed an unprecedented clampdown - shutting down the internet, media and mobile phones, barring movement and jailing Kashmiri leaders. They argued that JK’s ‘special status’ hindered integration by their Muslim majority population with the rest of Hindu India. The disputed region has had two wars fought over it by India, Pakistan and China. Narendra Modi reached out to people of JK, in the five languages spoken there, trying to instil peace on the troubled streets of a new Kashmir; which has been stripped of its constitution, flag, and hereditary rights. A historical powder keg has been ignited. The US asked Pakistan to refrain from ‘retaliatory aggression’ as airspace corridors were closed and bilateral trade suspended. China’s foreign ministry voiced ‘serious concern’ over India’s contentious move over an area claimed by both countries. See

Published in Worldwide
Thursday, 01 August 2019 17:25

Pakistan: Prayer Update

Pray for something so big and dramatic to happen in Pakistan that can only be explained by it being the work of God.

Missionary Visas

Missionaries are still being thrown out of the country, even some that have visas are losing them.  Pray this situation will be resolved.   Muslim leaders from Pakistan have no trouble getting permission to come to the USA.

Tribal Praise Report

Two visiting Korean doctors were on a medical outreach to a tribal area.  As the doctors were overwhelmed, the people began coming to the church workers saying, "We know your God heals. Will you pray for us?"  It became a tremendous time of ministry as they were able to tell them that it is the power of Jesus working when they are healed.  Many openly said, " We are so worried about our physical health and our spiritual needs. Now we know that Jesus can take care of both, we can come to Him."

Meeting between Pakistan and the USA

Imran Khan, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, is to visit the USA July 16 - 18.  He will meet with President Trump on the 17th.  Pray for good meetings with President Trump who has made some pretty strong statements against Pakistan since he came into office.  Some were justified particularly with the former Government, and covert, tactical support of some terrorist groups, but this all has taken a terrible toll on the people of Pakistan.

On 9/11 almost 3000 persons were killed. About 6000 US troops have been killed in Afghanistan.

Pakistan has lost 35,000 military between 2001 and 2011, and 40,000 are missing in action.  Civilian casualties started at 30,000 and is climbing rapidly to three or four times that.  The war on terrorism in Pakistan still continues.  The fallout on the economy in Pakistan has been drastic.  For example, a huge number of Pakistani refugees are being moved from one place to another and there is the care of over 400,000 Afghan refugees living in Pakistan that the government has had to care for, with the assistance of International Aid groups.

There are some who have gained from this war, but Pakistan has paid a terrible price.

God is the author of peace.  This will come as we intercessors PRAY.

Pray4Pakistan

More at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1k4lurlki5dfQV7Aju1vbqvWiD4CaHva-/view?usp=sharing

Pray: Russian and China and now the US are beginning to understand that peace in Afghanistan cannot come without the help of Pakistan.

Pray: May the right decisions be made.  It is not wrong, from the Taliban perspective, for the Taliban to lie to gain an upper hand.  May Pres. Trump have good advisors.

Pray: PM Imran Khan is working hard to bring peace within his own country.

Pray: Pres. Trump also wants to see a lasting peace in this part of the world.

Pray: Pray for Christians who are suffering the most from this.

Friday, 05 July 2019 10:10

Pakistan: killings halt vaccine drive

A government campaign to vaccinate 40 million children under the age of five against polio had to be suspended following serious attacks on workers and police in just one week. A policeman protecting polio workers was killed in Bannu, and a polio worker was injured with a knife in Lahore by a man refusing to allow his child to be vaccinated. Two others connected with different polio teams were also killed, and one man was seriously wounded. Further attacks on staff in Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab were reported. The violence was preceded by a series of rumours intended to derail Pakistan’s campaign to eradicate the disease. On 22 April several thousand children were taken to hospital in north-west Pakistan by panicked parents after a video circulated on Facebook in which a man attested that children were falling sick following vaccinations. A mob set alight a health centre following the same rumour.

Published in Worldwide