On August 16, there was a large mob attack on a the Christian neighborhood in Pakistan, called Jaranwala, after some local Muslims accused Christians of burning a Qur’an. No one was killed, but 21 churches and many houses were burned. 2,500 people had to flee their homes. Two Christian men accused of desecrating the Qur’an… Read more »
A Christian cleaner, Mussarat Bibi, is in custody in Pakistan along with her Muslim colleague, Muhammad Sarmad, after being accused of deliberately setting fire to pages of the Koran. Bibi and Sarmad, workers at a girls’ school in Arifwala, Punjab, are unable to read and write. Bibi is widowed and has three daughters. Her job… Read more »
In Pakistan, exceptionally heavy monsoon rains are causing devastation and untold suffering among the population. Hundreds of thousands of women, men and children have lost everything. CSI is providing emergency aid. It is urgent. Due to the severe drought, the monsoon was eagerly awaited, but in Pakistan this year it brought death and destruction. In… Read more »
Millions of people, especially Christians and Hindus, work in slave-like conditions in Pakistan’s brickworks. Many are in debt to their unscrupulous employers. Thanks to the generosity of its donors, Christian Solidarity International (CSI) has been able to help several families break free. The work is unimaginably hard: a labourer’s family has to mould about 1,000… Read more »
Some 4.5 million people, 70 percent of them children, work in appalling conditions in one of the 20,000 brick factories in Pakistan. They are paid so badly that they fall into debt and are at the mercy of their employers. Minorities, including Christians, are particularly affected. In February 2020, before the Corona crisis, the CSI… Read more »
Sadaf Khan, now 16 years of age, was abducted by a Muslim man and forcibly married to him. For two years she suffered terrible abuse at his hands and was not permitted to see her family. Thanks to the unrelenting efforts of CSI’s local partner in Pakistan, Sadaf is now back home withher parents and has prospects for the future. Sadaf was just 14 when Mubashir Abbas, a distant neighbor, abducted her from her home in Bahawalpur district… Read more »
Sania, a Christian girl from a small village in Faisalabad, suffered a beating from her teacher after missing school due to illness. When her parents complained, a group of Muslim men attacked both Sania’s family and other Christians in the neighborhood. Christian Solidarity International (CSI) providedlegal aid and medical assistance to the victims. Ten-year-old Sania attends the fourth grade of… Read more »
Kidnapped by a Muslim man she didn’t know and forced into marriage, Pakistani Christian Salma Ashiq endured three years of misery before finally managing to escape. CSI’s local partners are working to protect Salma and to ensure that those guilty of abusing her are brought to justice. Salma, who is now 24 years old, comes… Read more »
After more than four years in prison, Pakistani Christian Nabeel Masih has been released on bail. The youth had been sentenced to ten years’ detention on blasphemy charges. Christian Solidarity International (CSI) has long been campaigning for Nabeel’s release and welcomes the news that he is finally free. Nabeel, who had been praying to God… Read more »
Arzoo, a 13-year-old Christian girl, was abducted and forcibly married by a Muslim man over 30 years her senior. Thankfully, following a court ruling, she is now safe in a government-run shelter for women. CSI’s partner in Pakistan is engaged in a legal battle to protect the rights of underage girls like Arzoo and ensure… Read more »
