Pakistan: Prayer walks and persecution
20 Oct 2012Occasionally a team of intercessors travels to Pakistan. They spend time worshipping God and praying earnestly for His will to be done in various places. Later this month a team will once again prayer walk Pakistan and we have been asked to pray for their safety. Pray that their times of worship will be sweet music to God, and that they will hear God’s heart for the people and the Land. Pray that God will move in the hearts of the local people. Also we are reminded that the ongoing violence continues to take a toll of innocent civilians, including women and children. Pray for the many families who have lost loved ones to the violence, for widows and orphans with no source of income and for those who have been severely injured or crippled. Please also please pray for 16-year-old Christian Ryan Stanten accused of sending a blasphemous text message; he has been charged with ‘blasphemy’ which carries the death penalty.’
Pray: that the Prince of Peace will bring peace to Pakistan. (Ps.147:1-6)
Pakistan: Prayer growth and needs
05 Apr 2012Prayer Alert readers interceded with and for the church in Pakistan through 40 days of 24/7 prayer during lent. A Pakistan leader writes, ‘Thank you for your prayers. We felt God's presence and protection continually, and there is MUCH TO PRAISE GOD FOR. In one church over 2,000 people came from across the city. This is a very large number for Pakistan. The senior pastor of the host church was so impressed he decided to attempt to continue 24/7 in their church. God is at work! Many of our leaders need further encouragement, and the World Prayer Assembly is about to hold the largest prayer gathering for leaders in Jakarta, Indonesia during May 14-19. Pray that Pakistani leaders will be able to attend. A year ago it was easy for Pakistanis to get visas. This past year Pakistani Al -Qaeda carried out some actions in Indonesia so now it is difficult to get a visa for Indonesia.’
Pray: for the visas, and for more house churches of prayer in cities and rural areas across Pakistan. (Ps.102:17,18)
More: http://www.ipcprayer.org/index.cfm?&menuid=28
Pakistan: Possible blasphemy law debate
07 Sep 2012An unexpected twist in the Rimsha Masih blasphemy case appears to have paved the way for her freedom from false charges of desecrating the Quran. The imam who supported her accuser was himself arrested and appeared in court on the same charge as the girl because he tampered with evidence. The case triggered a debate on how Pakistan’s strict blasphemy laws are being used to settle personal scores and vendettas. Most blasphemy cases registered against Muslims and Christians involve very poor people, the most vulnerable. There are never cases of blasphemy lodged against the Zoroastrians (Parsis) because they are the most educated and prosperous community in Pakistan. The highest number of cases against non-Muslim people are against Christians, who are the poorest and least educated when compared with other religious communities. There is a need to address the rising persecution against Christians.
Pray: for an abolition of the anti-blasphemy laws across Pakistan and wise judgement by those in authority. (Ps.58:11)
More: http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/pakistan/article_1704924.htm
Sheikhupura police this month tortured a young Christian woman into revealing the whereabouts of the legal team helping her family after an influential Muslim family kidnapped her and her sister. Police also helped the Muslim family beat relatives of the Christian woman on court premises and attacked the offices of the organization trying to help her family. The Community Development Initiative (CDI) is an affiliate of the European Centre for Law and Justice. They helped the family negotiate the release of the two Christian sisters and also made efforts for the return of the runaway couple in order to avert religious conflict in the Punjab Province when it was feared inter-religious tensions would put the lives of some 70 Christian families of the area in jeopardy. Pray: for God's protection over the vulnerable and for spiritually inspired hope where there is despair. (Ps,10:17,18) More: http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/pakistan/article_113622.html
Pakistan: Persecution
26 Jan 2011
Pakistani police are threatening the father of 18-year-old Waqas Gill, a Christian man whom officers raped, killed and threw into a sewer, according to area Christians. The victim’s father said four Muslim policemen abducted his son without a warrant and without making any charges. Local Christian protestors said Muslim policemen unduly delayed an autopsy to protect fellow officers, on the assumption that Christians were socially and financially weak in the predominantly Sunni Islamic country. An autopsy was eventually undertaken and showed Gill was subjected to sexual assault, tortured, shot dead with police revolver bullets and thrown into a waste drainage line. Sources said at least six other area Christian youths had been similarly killed. Pray: for an end to distorting the law, the corruption of law enforcers and the misuse of religious text to justify acts of extremism. (Ps.19:7-9) More: http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/pakistan/31466/
Pakistan: Peace march and soul searching
20 Oct 2012Recent days demonstrate a battle for Pakistan’s soul. On Sunday there was a Peace March organised by Imran Khan heading for the home of Qari Hussain (main trainer of suicide bombers) and Baitullah Mehsud (former TTP leader - Pakistan Taliban). The demonstration was in opposition to US drone strikes against Islamic militants in Pakistan's tribal regions. Many see the choice of location communicating another message. Was there support for terrorists being expressed? Or a suggestion that Imran Khan would make peace with militants showing contempt for a 'secular leader'? On October 10th a 14- year-old girl campaigning for the rights of girls to be educated was shot by a militant group. Many are asking what has led to so many being enslaved by such regressive thinking. Many in Pakistan are shocked and doing some soul searching.
Pray: that, as people across the nation pause to look deeply within, many will be challenged to seek the path of true peace. (Deut.4:36a)
More: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012\10\17\story_17-10-2012_pg3_4
Pakistan: Mystery surrounds Asia Bibi
26 Nov 2010
Mystery surrounds Asia Bibi, who was sentenced to death on November 8 for blasphemy. (See Prayer Alert 4710). The case is receiving conflicting accounts of the ‘facts’ with some sources reporting her being freed by the Pakistani President, but others reporting this is not true. Several sources inside Pakistan claimed Asia Bibi was set free on November 22nd and has now gone into hiding over fears for her safety. The Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement said it ‘welcomes the release of Asia Bibi, the first Christian woman to be sentenced to death for blasphemy in Pakistan.’ But now a respected source close to the case said Bibi has not been pardoned and that her mercy plea has been sent to the Punjab Home Department, which will forward it to the Interior Ministry for onward submission to the Presidency. Pray: for Bibi and her family’s protection and for God to bring His justice into every area of this case. (Ps.12:7)
Following on the heels of the shocking case of Asia Bibi, the 45-year-old Pakistani Christian woman and mother of five who has been sentenced to death for alleged blasphemy, and in whose defence Punjab Governor Salman Taseer lost his life, comes the case of another Christian woman who has been charged with blasphemy under the country’s law that has been condemned around the world. Hardline Muslim clerics and landlords of the village Rana near Wandu, threatened to torch the homes of every Christian in the community and abduct Christian girls over the love affair of a Christian boy and Muslim girl. The situation became horrible for local Christians in Rana village and Wandu village as Muslim clerics and local Muslim landlords started to threaten Christian villagers. They also threatened dire consequences including forcibly evicting the local Christians from the villages; and most terrorizing of all the threats was to abduct Christian girls and rape them. Pray: against the persecution of believers in this community and throughout Pakistan. (Ac.4:29) More: http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2011/s11030036.htm