Pakistan may delay Taliban operation
26 Nov 2010
The Pakistani government might delay a military offensive in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region bordering Afghanistan by another four to six months (contrary to the expectations of the Pentagon). According to the ‘Daily Express Tribune’ newspaper a government source who requested anonymity gave several reasons for the delay, including differences in perceptions over scheduled withdrawal of NATO troops, the peace plan of Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the widening role of India in Afghan affairs. The source said that 'taking the ongoing war in the federally administered tribal areas and other regions to its logical conclusion is the first and foremost priority for the army'. The recent developments in the region, particularly in the wake of US President Barack Obama's visit to India, have forced Islamabad to think twice before opening another war front in North Waziristan. Pakistan has been under intense pressure from the US to launch an offensive in North Waziristan. Pray: for the Lord to peacefully remove so called 'epicentres of terrorism' in Pakistan and neighbouring countries. (Ps.64:1)
A powerful earthquake has killed at least 250 people in Pakistan's remote south-west province of Balochistan. The 7.7-magnitude quake struck on Tuesday afternoon at a depth of 20km (13 miles) north-east of Awaran. Many houses were flattened and thousands of people have spent the night in the open. After the quake, a small island appeared off the coast near the port of Gwadar. The new island is reported to be about 200m (656ft) long, 100m (328ft) wide and 20m (65m) high. The region is prone to earthquakes. The latest quake was so powerful it was felt as far away as Karachi, Hyderabad, and India's capital, Delhi. Entire villages are reported to have been flattened in the impoverished and sparsely-populated district of Awaran. Balochistan government spokesman Jan Buledi said most of the fatalities were in Awaran town and the surrounding villages, and he warned that the death toll could rise. At least 340 people have been injured.
Pray: for all those who have been affected by this earthquake and that relief will reach them quickly.
On Easter Sunday Christian families on their way to church were attacked by a gang of ‘radical local Muslim youths’ who hurled insults at them for being Christian and celebrating Easter. The men’s comments became ‘perverted’ towards the girls and women. A few Christian youths asked the men to stop mocking, then fighting broke out resulting in some Christians being critically injured and rushed to hospital. Ironically the Muslim men lodged a case with the police against ten of the Christian men and despite some of them being hospitalized with serious injuries they were arrested, charged, and jailed. Bail was granted on April 22nd. Well placed local sources requesting anonymity said, ‘rich, powerful and politically dominant radical Muslim men of the Faqira clan were hurling death threats and threats of dire consequences on the impoverished Christian families and the Christians were ‘still living under the shade of death of horror.’
Pray: for the Christian families to be strengthened emotionally and spiritually under the pain of unjust suffering. (1Pe.3:14)
Pakistan 1: Christians illegally arrested
18 May 2010
Police detained three Christians on false charges of alcohol possession in Sialkot last week at the request of their Muslim employer. The men objected to their boss demanding they work on Sundays. The factory owner seemed to object to the crosses the Christians wore since they began work for him last year. He used to look at the cross with strange looks. Since February no one has been allowed to wear a cross at work. In March he began demanding that only the Christian employees come to work on Sundays. When two workers objected Factory owner Rana Ejaz promptly accused them of selling alcohol, which is forbidden to Muslims in Pakistan and illegal to sell without a permit. They were arrested, severely beaten and asked to give a false statement that they sold alcohol. The factory owner reportedly said, ‘I did all this on the advice of the SHO, Zulfiqar, so that I could terminate the Christian workers.’
Pray: that God would strengthen Pakistan’s Christians as they continue to demonstrate reason for the hope that they have in Jesus. (2Pe.1:2)
More: http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/pakistan/19189/
Nortth Korea: Food shortage?
28 May 2011
A US/South Korean fact-finding team will visit North Korea on Tuesday to conduct an eight day investigation into people starving in remote regions. They hope to assess the amount of food necessary to relieve thousands of people. A South Korean spokesman said, ‘Transparency of the North’s distribution of food must be guaranteed before any food is sent’. Pyongyang’s past reluctance to disclose their food distribution process to outsiders sparked suspicions that most of the aid is used to feed its army and political elite. It is suspected Kim Jong-ll is stockpiling rice to release on the 100th anniversary of its founder Kim Il-sung next year. - See: For scandalous information from a Christian missionary detained in North Korea for two months please read this weeks Insight report. Pray:for all that is hidden to be revealed. For God to rule over and throughout all negotiations and investigations (Pr,16:4,5) Info: http://www.prayer-alert.net/info/NorthKoreaSuffering1.pdf
Northern Iraq, No longer safe for Christians
26 Oct 2013An increase in violence against Christians in northern Iraq has increased the flow of Christians leaving the country. The north, generally considered a relatively safe area of the country, had become home for many Christians fleeing from the tumultuous central and southern regions. However, several bombings in the north in recent months have caused panic among the Christian community. On September 22nd a suicide bomb went off outside the home of a Christian politician in the Kirkuk province, injuring 19 people, including three children. Several bomb attacks have also taken place in the northern city of Erbil, for which Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility. In early September, Christians in the village of Deshtakh complained that they were facing harassment from local police. A group of Christian young people said that policemen told them that they ‘should not be in Iraq because it is Muslim territory’.
Pray: for the future of Christianity in this country and an end to the present trend of increased violence. (SoS.2:12)
North/South Korea: Reconciliation and food aid
18 Nov 2010
As winter approaches, floods and frosty relations between Seoul and Pyongyang are putting the lives of millions of North Koreans at risk because of local food shortages. Representatives of the Catholic Apostolate Council of Korea met at the Fifth Forum for Intra-Korean Reconciliation in Seoul to discuss ways to end the North-South row to help their fellow Koreans in the North. The archbishop of Seoul asked lay Catholics to help their northern brothers and sisters despite the worsening relations between the two governments; and a deputy director of the Rural Economic Institute said ‘In addition to providing food aid, we can help local researchers develop better farming methods to boost local production. We can also plant trees to lessen the impact of flooding.’ Auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Seoul said, ‘If we ignore our brothers and sisters in the North, we must ask ourselves whether we are true Christians or not.’ Praise: God for opening avenues of Christian outreach to North Korea and ask Him to empower the dialogue towards reconciliation. (2Cor.5:18) More: http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Reconciliation-and-food-aid-for-North-Koreans-19946.html
A massive persecution of Christians by an Islamic government is under way in Sudan, and an estimated 700,000 Sudanese, most of them Christian, must leave the country for South Sudan by April under a law passed by the north after South Sudan voted to secede. Ethnically South Sundanese must leave the north or apply for ‘alien residency’ despite many—some studies say most—of these people have lived their whole lives in north Sudan. Human Rights Watch warns, ‘Statements and actions of Sudanese government officials indicate that they are reading these laws to mean that anyone living in Sudan with even one great-grandparent born in South Sudan will lose their Sudanese citizenship, irrespective of whether they have acquired—or want to acquire—South Sudanese citizenship.’ The proposal flies in the face of international law, as the individuals have a legitimate claim to Sudanese citizenship, having lived in Sudan their entire lives and there is currently no way for them to apply for South Sudanese citizenship.
Pray God will strengthen his people as they struggle under this illegal and morally disastrous plan. (Phil.1:28,29)