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Friday 30 September 2011

Half marathon legend earns donation from BPCA



In August we informed you of the Half marathon legend of 72 Dildar Hayat Khan who is the oldest known Pakistani Christian Runner our group is aware of.

Dildar ran a Half marathon nearby the Olympic site and collected a well earned donation of £20 from the BPCA as reward for his efforts.  Inspiring men of his calibre are what our next generation need s to be made more aware of so that we can grow as a community.

Dildar has promised his charitable collection to a group that will provided apprenticeships to Christians' in Pakistan.

Hi Running inspired Wilson to join a local park run scheme and at the ripe old age of 36 Wilson achieved a time of 21minutes 35seconds for a 5K run.  Wilson intends to run a half marathon soon to collect funds for the BPCA.  Wilson said;

"At 72 years of age dildar has shown our community how commitment and dedication can achieve great things.  Let's see if his inspirational performance can challenge our community to live more health lives.  After all the bible tells us the body is our temple!"


Leran more about Dildar by visiting our previous post:


http://britishpakistanichristian.blogspot.com/2011/08/72-and-still-going-strong-dildar-hayat.html

Asylum Seeker rejected on spurious grounds - Part 1 Case specifics and self-contradictory reasonings

Pakistani rangers shot dead innocent and unarmed Sarfaraz Shah shocking the world.  UK Border Agency believe Pakistani Christians would be protected by this elite force?


Police brutality such as this image is of no consequence if we are to believe the UK Border Agency!

BPCA recently received news about a Pakistani Christian who had his asylum application rejected by the UK Border Agency. Sources sent us the letter of rejection, and while we cannot comment on the details of the case or all the reasons why the application was rejected, some aspects of the rejection raise serious concerns that the Border Agency has a severely rose-tinted view of the situation for Christians in Pakistan.

Asylum applications are judged on whether there are substantial grounds shown for believing that the person making the application will face real risk of serious harm and is unable or unwilling to ‘avail himself of the protection of that country’. In this case the applicant claimed asylum on the grounds that he faced a real risk of the death penalty or execution and unlawful killing and torture of inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in Pakistan. In this case, although he has been in the UK for some years, family members in Pakistan were attacked by militants looking for him.

The BA first of all rejected his claim to have worked for Christian organisations while in Pakistan. It then used this rejection as a basis for rejecting his story about threats while working for those organisations. Additional grounds for rejecting his story was that he did not go to the police when he was threatened, and that he didn’t for self-protection stop working for the organisations that they asserted in the paragraph before that he did not in fact work for as he claimed. Talk about having your cake and eating it. Either he worked for them or he did not! Going back to the actual facts of the case, the asylum seeker has submitted evidence to the BPCA of his employment and the documents seem genuine.

But the other concern is this. Imagine if such a line was used against a priest or church minister – that he did not stop doing church work after threats. In other words, the very dedication to Christian work that makes these people such a target for Muslim aggression, and keeps them doing God’s work in the face of it is used as evidence against them in their claim for asylum. This is perverse reasoning indeed! Whatever happened to that most fundamental human right – freedom to express one’s religious faith?

The Border Agency rejected his assertion that his family had been threatened and his brother beaten by militants looking for him. In other words, they think it was made up. One of the reasons they gave for disbelieving him is that his family also never went to the authorities.

The fixation the BA official has with the fact that people did not go to the police indicates ignorance of the fact that very many crime victims (of all faiths) do not go to the police in Pakistan because of police corruption and fear of blackmail by the police. Christians especially have found that going to police often means police refusing to take reports of incidents. There have been many reports where the kidnap of Christian girls is used as a pretext to coerce and blackmail parents into converting to Islam. The police very often refuse to file reports in these cases. In the notorious Gojra case were many Christian houses were burned and a family burned alive the police refused to file a report until the now assassinated Christian Government Minister Shabbhaz Bhatti intervened and forced them to. In other cases where Christians were under attack, eg Bagram Beg, police forced them to sign agreements only to have church services when Muslim mullahs deemed them not ‘offensive’. In the face of so many reports is it truly a surprise that many Christian choose to suffer in silence rather than exacerbate persecution. ALL of the arrested perpetrators of the Gojra incident have recently been released due to a lack of evidence, much due to police inactivity during this high profile investigation.

Read part 2 by Clicking (Here)

Read Part 3 by Clicking (Here)

Here is what Premier Christian Radio reported after we highlighted the case to them. The victim is obtaining a letter of support against the arguments above from the BPCA:


http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.premier.org.uk%2Fnews%2Farchive%2F2011%2F09%2F20%2FChristian%2520asylum%2520seeker%2520fears%2520for%2520life.aspx&h=TAQAj3diHAQBXIs4waE8g5-54Xm2BiGBzOzXN4tox0AsuYA

Asylum Seeker rejected on spurious grounds - Part 2 Legal and social issues and misconceptions

Unruly lawyers smashing Police car not ones of these easily identified lawyers were disbarred form court?

The same legal fraternity in whom the UK Border Agency has great confidence harassed Christians' including Shazia Bashir's family outside Lahore Supreme Court.

If by authorities the BA means the legal establishment, then it again shows its ignorance of the nature of much of the Pakistani legal community. Some lawyers groups are to all intents and purposes Muslim extremist pressure groups in themselves, whom police are often afraid to go against, as witnessed in last year’s case of the 12 year old Shazia Bashir, a Christian girl who was raped, beaten an d tortured to death by her employer, a supreme court advocate. The police covered up the cause of death by falsifying the autopsy until the family ordered a second autopsy, and the police refused point blank to accept a report about the murder. Over 300 Muslim Lawyers boycotted the court hearing, smashed the court to pieces and prevented the family of Shazia Bashir and the Solicitors representing her family from entering the court. They attacked Police vehicles outside the court and hurled abuse and stones at Christians. Despite having video and photographic images of the Lawyers, when the Interior Minister Rehman Malik was questioned by Wilson Chowdhry, Chairman of the BPCA on why none of them were disbarred, the Minister simply responded “You are right, firmer action should have been taken.” A video of this response is viewable on the BPCA Blog site for your perusal:

http://britishpakistanichristian.blogspot.com/2011/03/interior-minister-challenged-by-wilson.html

If Christians cannot rely on the Interior Minister, the legal fraternity and the police who should they approach for assistance – the (now non-existent in both senses of the word – see below) Minister for Minority Affairs?
The Border Agency official then goes on to claim that with about 2 million Christians, they form a sizeable population in Pakistan, but compared to the 95% Muslim majority they are not in any way a sizeable minority. They used this ‘sizeable’ Christian population, along with the fact that several (non-religious based) NGO’s are relatively free to operate in Pakistan, to assert that it is relatively safe to openly be a Christian, whereas in actual fact a number of Christian organisations are forced to work underground. The BA report, from this summer mentions that the Minority Minister is a Catholic, without mentioning that he was assassinated 5 months before the report for standing up against the blasphemy law and persecution of religious minorities. Since this was a well publicized event even for the UK general population, the fact that a BA report takes such a disingenuous line is indicative of a systematic disregarding of the facts on the ground for Pakistani Christians which is utterly unacceptable in a body adjudicating asylum claims from that country. In addition, since the assassination, the Ministry for Minority Affairs has been dissolved, a very symbolic move that removed one of the few protective forces for minorities in the country. They mention one incident (Gojra) in relation to the blasphemy laws, but neglect to mention the many other victims of blasphemy law charges using false evidence. And if they only know of 8 incidents of false blasphemy cases, they must have used a VERY short reporting period. Clearly the BA is very out of touch with the reality on the ground.

They also try to back up their rejection of the asylum seekers fears by stating that some attacks on Christians ‘may be’ to do with the prevailing caste system, as most Christians are very poor and former Hindu untouchables. They state that since these social conditions do not apply to the applicant, his fears are unfounded. They totally ignore the fact that a) poor victims like Asia Bibi were not attacked because of their caste or position but because of their words in defence of their Christian faith and b) false accusations of blasphemy or attacks over the matter affect Christians from all walks of life and levels of wealth and influence. Blasphemy cases have ALL been fuelled by misinterpretations or jealousies and revenge, not social position. For instance the church that was forced to alter its church services was in Lahore, a wealthy city, not in a rural backwater.

A number of recent victims of murder over blasphemy or false charges were against wealthy individuals – for instance NGO leaders and a University lecturer and his wealthy son. Also the two assassinations of a Muslim and a Christian politician in the past year show that deaths over blasphemy affect the very highest class in Pakistani society. In addition, the caste issue is not really an issue here – in Christian and Muslim society in Pakistan the caste system is practically vanished. It is only in Hindu society that it is still an issue in any substantive way.

The report then returns to the fact that Christians have a ‘sizeable’ population in the country and assert the fact that because there are not large numbers fleeing the country therefore Christians are not under severe danger. This ignores the fact that there are great difficulties in getting visas, and that most Christians are very poor and illiterate so are not able to afford to flee, nor to negotiate the process. Many have quite simply lost all hope and endure, hoping they will survive. Also, due to the decades long conflict between India and Pakistan, the Indian border is very well policed and any Pakistanis are prevented from crossing the border. A large number of wealthier Christians who can leave have done so, even if not all of them claim asylum – as they have better resources and ability to remain abroad on other grounds.

Asylum Seeker rejected on spurious grounds - Part 3 'Objective' considerations of police and legal systems - conclusion


This is the image of young Shazia Bashir, who suffered beatings, and was raped by her employer (who failed to pay for her domestic labour) most assume (from image) she was under 12 years of age.  Police autopsy's originally indicated she was 10 years old, the figure altered to 14 years of age in  a later report. The minimum age for employment in Pakistan is 14... 

Another issue in considering asylum applications is the legal system and the protection it can provide to persecuted people. In this area the rejection reasoning is woefully inadequate and demonstrates a fundamental ignorance of the situation and a very biased selection of the relevant facts. For instance, it makes much that the police have been trained by various Human Rights NGO’s but that is irrelevant to the practice on the ground. It is true that there have been a few pleasing outbreaks of professionalism amongst police in these kinds of cases, but they are still all too rare. In addition, the NGO’s were concerned with general human rights for prisoners, or in dealing with child sex abuses. Worthy stuff, but not particularly applicable to religious issues. Even more to the point, the fact remains that the police reflect Pakistani society, which is for the most part hostile to Christianity – and not just the ‘extremist’ groups. Even if particular policemen are disposed to act fairly, they can and often do face overwhelming pressure from Muslim leaders and the mobs they stir up from the Mosques and /or wealthy and influential local politicians and businessmen who are sometimes the perpetrators of the crimes, particularly against Christian domestic servants and young girls.

The BA cites the ruling of a judge in a previous case in 1999 (Horvath vs Secretary of State - Horvath IATRF 99-0179-4) to justify their decision in regard to Christians and the Pakistani justice system. The relevant paragraph in the ruling (on determining how to apply criteria to do with asylum cases and the justice system) reads :

In my judgment there must be in force in the country in question a criminal law which makes the violent attacks by the persecutors punishable by sentences commensurate with the gravity of the crimes. The victims as a class must not be exempt from the protection of the law. There must be a reasonable willingness by the law enforcement agencies, that is to say the police and courts to detect, prosecute and punish offenders. It must be remembered that inefficiency and incompetence is not the same as unwillingness, unless it is extreme and widespread. There may be many reasons why criminals are not brought to justice including lack of admissible evidence even where the best endeavours are made; they are not always convicted because of the high standard of proof required, and the desire to protect the rights of accused persons. Moreover, the existence of some policemen who are corrupt or sympathetic to the criminals, or some judges who are weak in the control of the court or in sentencing, does not mean that the state is unwilling to afford protection. It will require cogent evidence that the state which is able to afford protection is unwilling to do so, especially in the case of a democracy.

Now while technically in some regards this may be true of Pakistan – that Christians are not exempt from the protection of the law as a class – in practice it is not, as we have seen. There is systematic bias and discrimination against Christians as a class because they are Christians, and successful prosecutions against attackers of Christians are very few indeed (disregarding the fact that most victims don’t go to the police anyway). The report claims that according to ‘objective standards’ the asylum seeker should be able to get protection from the police, but quite frankly, the facts say otherwise. For instance, in Karachi, the police recently beat a Christian who had already been left for dead by extremists. Also in Karachi, the police are often little more than private militias for various political parties and are complicit in many murders, attacks and human rights abuses. Police corruption is rife, and charities on the ground working with street children say 60% of them have been sexually abused by policemen at some point.

Pakistan may have democratic elements, but it is primarily a theocracy in which Islam is the national faith, and the President and Prime Minister can only be Muslims. In the recent case of Gujrunwala where a jealous Muslim man burnt a Koran and left the remains in a Christian graveyard to try and incriminate Christians (massive riots and attacks on Christian buildings ensued), the perpetrator was never tried for blasphemy, whereas if the evidence had pointed (or was deemed to have pointed) to a Christian, the result would have been very different. And no-one was prosecuted for the attacks on the Christian community. This example is the rule, not the exception.

The martyred Christian government Minister Shahbaz Bhatti was refused armoured vehicles and other protective measures in the lead up to his assassination by the Pakistani cabinet, despite sustained and credible death threats. His elimination meant the last remaining voice for minorities was silenced, and many Pakistani’s feel the cabinet stripped him of protection for precisely this reason. Those involved in his assassination were interviewed and set free to flee to a foreign country. Before him Governor Taseer was killed for standing up for Christians, and just last month his son was kidnapped and is still missing. If the police can’t / won’t protect such high profile individuals as these, both Muslim and Christian, what hope do ordinary Pakistani Christians like this asylum seeker have for protection? We submit that the above (very small) sampling of the facts and reality on the ground in Pakistan gives very cogent evidence that the state of Pakistan is unable / unwilling to afford protection to Christians as a class.

So, as we have seen the BA significantly underestimates the professionalism of the police as a whole in Pakistan, especially in regards to Christians. The BA considers that ‘Pakistan has a properly constituted and well structured police force who focus on training and developing their constables..... Whilst it is accepted that certain elements of the police remain unreliable, it cannot be said that this reflects the authorities as a whole. [It can and has and is being said – by us – with lots of reports to the contrary!] .. There is no evidence that the Pakistani authorities would wish to harm you or deny you protection....’ Given the number of cases where Christians are dying in prison after false blasphemy charges, beaten by the police, etc, there is every evidence that at the least the authorities are not able / willing to protect Christians fully. The BA has it the wrong way round – while there are a few welcome examples of greater professionalism in the police in regard to Christian protection, as a whole the situation is ‘unreliable’ for Christians. Police face huge pressures to let perpetrators go free and to harass or punish or obstruct victims as they seek justice. The BA letter cites various facts and figures about the police to justify their assertions but a lot of it is very vague, suggesting no real data in support. In fact Janes Sentinel Country Risk Assessment can’t even provide figures for the number of police in Pakistan, which suggests poor record keeping and unprofessionalism. The report mentions as an avenue of appeal in Pakistan the District / Public safety commission, but no stats or information is provided, suggesting to BPCA that they are an ineffective body little used by citizens unaware of their existence – or knowing they would not get much joy from them.

The BA report then goes on to say that the asylum seeker can and should have sought refuge by relocating to another area of the country. But that ignores the systematic discrimination in Pakistani society, and the fact that oppression of Christians is not confined to particular areas. We have reported on attacks and abuse from every single area of the country. Where could this man go to be free of the discrimination and be able to find work? He carries his ID card which indicates he is a Christian, and as soon as that is seen, many will discriminate against him in employment, education and travel, and use it to identify him for attacks. The BA wish to send him back – can they guarantee that he will be able to get a job with this kind of prejudice? In this day and age there are effective communication devices called mobile phones and internet and email which mean that extremist groups in one area of Pakistan can easily supply details of targets to those in other areas!

In closing, just last year there was there were riots in which two pastors accused of blasphemy were shot dead, and further tensions – and this was in the asylum seekers home town. This asylum seeker has worked for many Christian organisations in Pakistan and has been participating very actively in church and religious activities. He has strong fears of threats, torture and persecution not only towards him but his family as well. BPCA asks the immigration and asylum tribunal to consider carefully whether it really is fair to send this man back to his home.

Thursday 29 September 2011

Dengue Fever spreading across Pakistan - more specifically Christian Enclaves


Image of Dengue Fever sufferer at Itefaq Hospital, Lahore.


The British Pakistani Christian Association informed our readers of the spread of Dengue fever (virus-based disease spread by mosquitoes), after the recent inundation in Pakistan. First reported by us on the 22nd September 2011:

http://britishpakistanichristian.blogspot.com/2011/09/dengue-fever-hits-pakistan-along-with.html

This debilitating disease has taken many victims with hundreds having lost their lives already.  Our research has indicated that Christian and other minority enclaves have been hit worst due to the poverty in these areas, many areas have excessive stagnant water a consequence of this years flooding, moreover local sewage and drain systems are uncovered, both of which attract mosquitoes.

Symptoms of Dengue fever are best described as a sudden high fever, often as high as 104 - 105 degrees Fahrenheit. A flat, red rash may appear over most of the body 2 - 5 days after the fever starts. A second rash, which looks like the measles, appears later in the disease. Infected people may have increased skin sensitivity and are very uncomfortable.

Other symptoms include:
  • Headache (especially behind the eyes)
  • Fatigue
  • Joint aches
  • Muscle aches
  • Nausea
  • Swollen lymph nodes
  • Vomiting
All in all, the disease is one that causes great strain on the sufferer and their family, however, in most instances the disease is not fatal.  If treated early and in an appropriate manner with proper treatment.

The BBC and CNN have reported on the rise in infections of Dengue Fever:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14896393

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-09-30/asia/world_asia_pakistan-dengue-fever_1_dengue-fever-lahore-infects?_s=PM:ASIA

Sadly, on the 25th September 2011 we reported the death of Aslam Masih (RIP 09.09.11), a victim incarcerated under the Blasphemy laws of Pakistan who contracted the disease as a consequence of the poor sanitation and welfare available to him. In his unfortunate case, prison management acted negligently and had not permitted treatment for Aslam.  Read more about Aslam here:


Many deaths have already resulted from an inability to pay for extortionate medical fees that have risen as a consequence of a surge in demand, following 6000 reported sufferers in Lahore and 300 sufferers in Karachi (our first report 22.09.11).   The figures relating to sufferers is on a steep incline yet the government of Pakistan fails to recognise that this illness has now become an epidemic and has still to respond to the dire needs of it's people.  

Muslim Aid agencies are refusing to give aid to Christian families in the same way they ignored our community last year.  Their ultimatum of convert or die is one that is equally sonorous and provides more evidence of the widespread Islamic conservatism in a country, that in recent times has gained a reputation for hard-line views.

We are in touch with families that have been victims of the terrible ailment who have informed us of the physical/mental strain and anguish they have gone through.  Moreover many have had to sell personal items to pay for treatment.  Families have lost income through not being able to work and for many of them their only hope for survival is in God.  Please pray for this awful malaise to disappear from these poor suffering people who in recent years have been hit with disaster after disaster.

The British Pakistani Christian Association is continuing with it's flood appeal in the same manner as last year and will be providing food, shelter and sanitation support to Christian communities and wider adjoining faith communities.  In particular this year we will also be providing the medical fees and associated medical treatment costs required to assist sufferers of Dengue fever.  We will also be recompensing impoverished families who have lost income to pay for treatment.

If you would like to contribute please use the Pay Pal facility on our blog or website.  Alternatively you can pay any donations directly into our Bank Account using the following details:

Account:         63468976
Sort Code:      20-67-90


Should you wish to donate by cheque please use the following details

British Pakistani Christian Association (BPCA FLOOD/DENGUE APPEAL)
57 Green Lane
Ilford
Essex
IG1 1XG

Pakistani Christian asylum seeker rejected on spurious grounds - part 1


UK BORDER AGENCY LOGO

BPCA recently received news about a Pakistani Christian who had his asylum application rejected by the UK Border Agency. Sources sent us the letter of rejection, and while we cannot comment on the details of the case or all the reasons why the application was rejected, some aspects of the rejection raise serious concerns that the Border Agency has a severely rose-tinted view of the situation for Christians in Pakistan.


Asylum applications are judged on whether there are substantial grounds shown for believing that the person making the application will face real risk of serious harm and is unable or unwilling to ‘avail himself of the protection of that country’. In this case the applicant claimed asylum on the grounds that he faced a real risk of the death penalty or execution and unlawful killing and torture of inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in Pakistan. In this case, although he has been in the UK for some years, family members in Pakistan were attacked by militants looking for him.


The BA first of all rejected his claim to have worked for Christian organisations while in Pakistan. It then used this rejection as a basis for rejecting his story about threats while working for those organisations. Additional grounds for rejecting his story was that he did not go to the police when he was threatened, and that he didn’t for self-protection stop working for the organisations that they asserted in the paragraph before that he did not in fact work for as he claimed. Talk about having your cake and eating it. Either he worked for them or he did not!


But the other concern is this. Imagine if such a line was used against a priest or church minister – that he did not stop doing church work after threats. In other words, the very dedication to Christian work that makes these people such a target for Muslim aggression, and keeps them doing God’s work in the face of it is used as evidence against them in their claim for asylum. This is perverse reasoning indeed!


The Border Agency rejected his assertion that his family had been threatened and his brother beaten by militants looking for him. In other words, they think it was made up. One of the reasons they gave for disbelieving him is that his family also never went to the authorities.


The fixation the BA official has with the fact that people did not go to the police indicates ignorance of the fact that very many crime victims do not go to the police in Pakistan because of police corruption and fear of blackmail by the police. Christians especially have found that going to police often means police refusing to take reports of incidents, and indeed often using the kidnap of Christian girls as a pretext to coerce and blackmail parents into converting to Islam. In the notorious Gojra case were many Christian houses were burned and a family burned alive the police refused to file a report until the now assassinated Christian Government Minister Shabbhaz Bhatti intervened and forced them to. In other cases where Christians were under attack, police forced them to sign agreements only to have church services when Muslim mullahs deemed them not ‘offensive’.


If by authorities the BA means the legal establishment, then it again shows its ignorance of the nature of much of the Pakistani legal community. Some lawyers groups are to all intents and purposes Muslim extremist pressure groups in themselves, whom police are often afraid to go against, as witnessed in last year’s case of the 12 year old Shazia Bashir, a Christian girl who was raped, beaten an d tortured to death by her employer, a supreme court advocate. The police covered up the cause of death by falsifying the autopsy until the family ordered a second autopsy, and the police refused point blank to accept a report about the murder.



More to follow.....

Here is what Premier Christian Radio reported after we highlighted the case to them.  The victim is obtaining a letter of support against the arguments above from the BPCA:

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.premier.org.uk%2Fnews%2Farchive%2F2011%2F09%2F20%2FChristian%2520asylum%2520seeker%2520fears%2520for%2520life.aspx&h=TAQAj3diHAQBXIs4waE8g5-54Xm2BiGBzOzXN4tox0AsuYA

Tuesday 27 September 2011

Young Christian girl beaten and expelled from school for ‘blasphemous’ spelling mistake : Cameron’s Pakistan aid funds corrupting and divisive school system :

On Thursday a simple spelling mistake by a Christian teenage girl in a test at school resulted in a chain of events that casts severe doubt on the suitability of David Cameron’s £650 million in education aid to Pakistan.  The teenage girl, Faryal Bhatti, took part in a school Urdu test around a poem in praise of Muhammad, and made a tiny spelling mistake that resulted in a word roughly equivalent to ‘damn’. 

"Faryal spelt the word  "naat" (hymn), in the Urdu language  as "laanat" (curse) during an examination  in which she was asked a  question about a poem written in praise of prophet Muhammad (PBUH)."

Her teacher, Fareeda Bibi, spotted it, recalled her, scolded and physically beat her.  She then reported the matter to senior officers at the school.  Overnight, word spread and male students at the school, aided by some local Muslim religious leaders, held rallies the next day demanding the girl be driven from her home and have criminal charges filed against her.  At prayer sessions that day, Imam’s demanded that not only the girl, but her entire family should be punished.  Officials called a meeting of the school and religious leaders where the girl and her mother were required to appear.  They apologized and said that it was just a simple spelling mistake, but to no avail.  The next day, not only did the school expel her, but her mother, a nurse was moved by authorities from her job in a nearby hospital to another hospital much further away from the school. 

This is not an isolated incident.  Christian and other minority children in Pakistani schools are forced to take Islamic lessons, often face pressure to convert or do Islamic worship, sometimes with beatings, and have to read textbooks that erase their faith’s contributions to history and the Pakistani state, and also often denigrate or demonise their own faiths.  

The head of human rights organisation BPCA (British Pakistani Christian Association), Wilson Chowdhry said ‘This is the education system that Cameron has decided to pour UK taxpayers money into with very lax, if any, monitoring on their use, especially in relation to minority faiths.  Part of the rationale of the aid was supposed to be to strengthen mainstream education as a bulwark against the Madrasa educational establishments of extremist Islamic groups.  This latest incident demonstrates that too often there is all too little difference between the ‘mainstream’ and ‘extremist’ educational establishments in Pakistan.  David Cameron and the coalition government have in effect committed £650 million of UK taxpayers money to a system that routinely and systematically discriminates against and oppresses children of minority religions, and effectively increases Islamic extremist practices.  We call on the Cameron government in the strongest possible terms to reconsider its pledge of aid to the Pakistani education system, especially in the light of Imran Khan’s recent warning about the corrupting effect of much Western aid on Pakistani society.   Without extremely stringent controls and monitoring, it is highly likely that even without any of the regular brand of corruption, Cameron will have pledged hundreds of millions of tax-payers money to an education system that effectively furthers Islamic extremism and imperialism at the expense of minority faith children.’

In the light of these conditions on the ground, BPCA has already floated the idea in recent months of bursaries for Pakistani students with strict conditions and on the ground monitoring of the lessons in the schools involved.

http://www.britishpakistanichristians.co.uk/appeals.php

Please sign our international petition calling for Britain to use foreign aid as a lever for change:

http://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/noukaidtopakistan

Here is a further petition for UK residents only:

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/

Listen to Wilson's interview on Premier Christian Radio:

http://www.premier.org.uk/news/current/Girl%20beaten%20for%20blasphemous%20spelling%20error.aspx

Monday 26 September 2011

Interview with CLAAS

The CLAAS staff interviewed for video

Recently Barnabas Fund released clips from a brief interview with CLAAS staff members about the situation in Pakistan with particular regard to the blasphemy law and rape of Christian girls
: - usually when employed in Muslim houses
: - it renders them un-marriageable in Pakistani society
: - those forced to convert to Islam and marry the Muslim cannot return to their homes
: - they will be killed if they try and 'return' to their true faith
: - their families would be killed by Muslim groups if they accepted the victims back into their homes
: - the incidence of these occurrences is probably wildly under-reported - many do not get to the police stations and courts
: - usually the case is closed after 2 or 3 months
:- usually action is only taken due to pressure resulting from exposure in the International media
: - the perpetrators are usually influential Muslim families who beat the girls to intimidate them
: - if they fall pregnant due to rape, the courts can really do nothing to help at all, even if they wanted to
Here is the article and the video is here but also embedded below :

Sunday 25 September 2011

Aslam Masih, another martyr to the wicked blasphemy laws!


Aslam Masih

Yet another Christian has died in terrible conditions as a result of false charges under the depraved blasphemy laws. Aslam Masih, 30, died being after kept in atrocious conditions in prison, and then denied the medical treatment he needed.

He was originally accused of blasphemy by members of the conservative Islamic group Tablighi Jamaat. He was in the prison hospital for several months but was not taken to the general hospital for the care he needed due to 'security concerns', although eventually they relented, but too late.

When he was visited by a human rights group towards the end of July, he had a high fever, was unable to stand and struggled to breathe. He had tuberculosis, but the autopsy stated that his death on 9th September was due to dengue fever, a disease entirely curable with proper medical attention.

 Unfortunately he lost contact with his family, who did not visit him after his arrest in 2010. This had a huge effect on his mental health. He, like others in the prison accused of 'blasphemy' was kept in solitary confinement without access to a toilet, water or electricity.

 He was also denied basic sanitary products like soap, toothpaste and clean clothes, and this barbaric treatment contributed considerably to his decline in health.

Sources :



More general lawlessness in Pakistan - acid attacks on women, militant murder


Over the last couple of weeks, I've come across several stories from Pakistan that don't involve Christians, but do illustrate wider issues in Pakistani society. First off is that 7 women have been disfigured by acid attacks in just a two day period, in several incidents. In the first, a student at college was attacked by two fellow students because she did not have her head covered with a dupatta (a headscarf seen as a symbol of modesty). They heckled her, and when she shouted out, they threw acid on her face, saying she deserved to have her face ruined. When the girls parents confronted the families of the perpetrators, instead of requests for forgiveness they were met with gunfire and had to flee for their lives.
The second incident involved a woman fleeing back to her home after yet another case of domestic abuse. Her husband came to her families house, promising she wouldn't beat her again, but when she refused, he and two friends broke into their house and threw acid on her and five other women in her family while they slept, leaving them with up to 80% burns on their face and bodies.

In Lahore, in another incident, two Muslims were killed in a shoot out after a militantly anti-Shia group marched through a Shia area, escorting a leader released from bail in July charged with murdering 70 people, mostly Shia. He has been preaching hatred against Shia ever since, and broke his conditions of bail by travelling. The march took place, despite police assurances that it wouldn't. Both sides blamed each other for starting shooting first, but two of the extremist group were killed, and 10 people were injured, including a policeman.

Rape a girl and you weaken a family, a community and a nation


I watched the video of the 2 year old girl who was raped because her father refused to become a Muslim. I am glad they are safe in Canada. Our great healer Jesus Christ loves her very much. I pray that one day the Lord will raise up a young man who will love her and marry her because I know in Asian communities, the parents are happy and proud to marry off their daughters to suitable grooms.
However when the Lord Jesus Christ transforms the life of a sinner, he be a rapist, an extremist or someone like the North Korean leader or anybody else, really there is real transformation. I know that whatever happens to that little girl, her hope is that she will have eternal life if she also follows the Lord of her parents. So as Christians born of the Lord, we have to be ready to forgive these evil men behind these evil acts because no man will ever suffer as Christ suffered on that Cross for all kinds of sins, even those mentioned here so as to give sinners who repent life in abundance. It’s such a joy to be called righteous because of Christ and to know He is always interceding for His children before the Father. I think it will be a great joy if anyone among them who has done such evil will become a child of God. This is the power of Christ and salvation.
Rape is not only a weapon that extremists of a religion use; it is also a political weapon. In Pakistan Muslim extremists are using it for a religious cause; in North Korea the families of Christians, former Communists or Christians who are faithful to Jesus Christ endure a lot, systematic rape in dark, dank cells and when the women are pregnant and when their babies are born, their soldiers/rapists wring the necks of the new-born babies before them for these Christian women to renounce Christ. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, rape is an ongoing war weapon. No-one who is born female is spared. Rape victims include infants, teenagers, young women and grandmothers.
Amnesty International has a detailed report on the violations of the rights of  women  in DRC .

Swat Valley

I wrote this poem in remembrance of the beautiful Swat Valley

I left behind…

Because Talibans
With the religiousness
 Of Kalashnikovs

Are purifying
Pakistan
For their self-made deity:

Who hates
Cricket;
Women and girls;
Artists and
Apostates.

Valley
Of death;
Backwardness.

Over the hills
I hear the shells.

Nature is in pain.
Pine-needles are falling.
Blood drops
Are blotting
The snow-swathed hills—
Upsetting
The blue-silver-spread lakes.


I left my heart
In the Swat
As I lay
In the blue plastic
Refugee tent.

My mother is dead.
My father has disappeared.
My brother taken by force
To be a next-generation
Taliban.

I close my eyes,
Pining.

The birds are singing.
The lake is still.
The white-blue pebbles
Shine with glorious shyness.

The air is pure
As the wind
Tousles
The introverted pines
That grace
The ancient footpath.

The well-being of petrol

I do not want to change the world
I will not be able.
The world tried to change me
When I was young.
I tried to be like the other Miss Smarts
But I couldn’t.
I was born in the lap of nature
As the poet says.

My youth has gone
But I am still
A child of nature,
A poet’s child,
A child of beauty.
The one that makes me live
Eternity now!

Maybe you are right.
I do want to change the fate of
Helpless girls:
Kidnapped,
raped
and forced to marry
their kidnappers.
What a life for a girl of fifteen
In a digital world!
It is not a story I made up.
It is happening in Pakistan!
In Egypt!

I am free
Free to think
Free to say what I think.
Free to choose
What I want to wear.
Free to sit where I want to sit.
Free to love my family.

But for her who is raped
Forced into this marriage
Her mother will never see her again.
She is a living corpse.
She will bear sons for a monster.
Then she will be cast away
Thrown into a well at 25
When we are breathing free here!

For the sake of peace she is forgotten
She is just an isolated case.
Who will bother about her?
World leaders are more concerned about
the well being of petrol.

Once
A salmon rose
In dad’s garden
Now a white rose
On a tomb
Watered by tears
Of a helpless dad
And a hapless mum.



Mother’s Love in war-ripped DRC

I wrote this poem some years ago for the abused women in the Democratic Republic of Congo but today what I am hearing and reading about all the abuse women from minority groups  face in Pakistan, I want to dedicate this poem also to all the beautiful and courageous women of Pakistan.
To all the beautiful mothers of DRC
Soldiers killed the
Husband with a machete,
Opened him up,
Removed his organs  
And burnt them.
 Then hacked him to pieces.

Flies-infested pieces –
Feast for stray dogs.

Soldiers raped the wife once.
She conceived, she delivered.

Raped her twice.
She conceived, she delivered.

Raped her thrice.
She conceived, she delivered.

Raped her
A fourth time:

A baby girl
Was born
In the make-shift shack
In the south of Kovu.

Her cadaverous mum
Guided her mouth
To her nipple.
The baby sucked
Nothing.
.
Huddled together with mum,
Her brother and sister,
Bellies bloated,
Eyes sunken,
Whimpered
For the relief of death.

 

Yesterday
Mother buried
Her other son
With famine tears.

She wanted to give away
Her new born daughter
To that woman journalist
Who had promised
To visit her again...

.
She might be
HOPE
For DRC.



Thursday 22 September 2011

Dengue fever hits Pakistan - along with floods


The folks at Alfa Productions have informed us that as well as the new floods in the Sindh province that have displaced many people and killed several hundred, whilst the effects of last years catastrophic flooding are still felt, the country is also being hit by the dengue fever, with around 6000 cases in Lahore and close to 300 in Karachi. Apparently the hospitals don't have the resources to cope with this plague.

Wednesday 21 September 2011

Raymond Ibrahim - a Useful Resource


I would like to bring readers attention to a valuable resource available on the net, and that is the website of the Egyptian Coptic writer Raymond Ibrahim. It often contains very useful information and perspectives, naturally focusing on Egypt, but he often touches on Christian-related Pakistan issues also. He is also an expert on al-Qaida ideology.

Tuesday 20 September 2011

Art has always been intrinsic to socio-political change - come view the inauguration of the Redbridge Peace Monument 24th September 2011.


Wilson Chowdhry for the last 5 years has been campaigning for a peace monument in his home town of Redbridge.  The East Ilford Business Partnership a group that Wilson Chairs, raised £5000 towards a potential peace monument in Redbridge.   In April this year we secured a further £5000 via the East London Community Foundation.

The proposed monument will be installed at the Winston Way Roundabout just outside the town centre, opposite Vine United Reform Church Car Park (location of the tragic attack to Kashif Mahmood in September 2005).   An official inauguration of the monument  is scheduled for 15:00 on the 24th September 2011.

The Cenotaph in London is a poignant reminder of the futility of war, we hope our monument will be a beacon of hope and a reminder of the futility of violent crime.

We will allow families of existing victims and future ones to add a small plaque to the base ensuring that the monument always has a current focus. 

At a time when great healing is needed in a city ravaged by street violence and the ensuing fear during the recent London rioting, projects such as these have a pivotal role to play.

OOnce the project funds are in place, we will be holding a boroughwide Schools competition for the design of small mosaics that will replace temporary ones in its initial design, during its first anniversary. This will give ownership of the project to young people and create a sense of responsibility for the only officila artwork in Ilford South..  The first of these designs will be chosen form children from the local area who enter our competition during Redbridge's first ever Peace concert to be held from 12pm - 6pm on 24th September 2011 in Ilford Town Centre.    

Activities include;


  • Live performances
  • A painting competition (best ones chosen for mosaic in monument design)
  • "Whale of a time" workshops using clay modelling to improve learning about endangered species and the environment
  • Community stalls and much more.


The one day event has been sponsored by the Redbridge Community Chest fund operated by the Strategic Services department of Redbridge and "Awards for all"

In time we hope schools will take children and young people to the monument for talks and presentations on the impact of violent crime. Parvin Mahmood the mother of victim Kashif Mahmood, has agreed to talk to schools about the impact of the attack that led to the loss of her son's life. She has already spoken in various schools and colleges across the borough.


Read more (Ilford Recorder)


Here is what our funders form the East London Community Foundation said:


"East London Community Foundation assists a large number of community groups in Redbridge with small project grants up to £5,000. We support local people - like the Mahmood family and Wilson Chowdhry - to take the initiative and do something positive to tackle local issues. We were pleased to offer funding from our Grassroots Grants programme to East Ilford Business Partnership for the Peace Monument in Winston Way roundabout. We feel the monument will be a useful focal point to raise awareness among young people that using knives as a weapon can so easily have lethal consequences. We liked the multicultural and inclusive nature of the monument, and the fact that local children will have the chance to be involved in its design. We hope it will unite local people to prevent violence and knife crime."


Here is what the Ilford Recorder said:

http://www.london24.com/news/ilford_peace_monument_unveiled_for_victims_of_knife_crime_1_1028799

Here is another version of the story:

http://www.knifecrimes.org/Peace-Monument.html

Saturday 17 September 2011

Wilson to talk at All Saints Church, Ascot for Racial Justice Sunday 18th September 2011.

Wilson Chowdhry our Chairman will be giving a presentation on the plight of Pakistani Christians' on the 18th September 2011.  The event was to have been organised on the official date of Racial Justice Sunday which is the 11th September, but due to the clash with Redbridge Carnival for whom Wilson is Chairman the date was moved backwards.

If you would like to attend and meet with Wilson the service is to start at 10:30 am and Wilson will be meeting with church members until 4.30pm.

The Official address of the church is as follows:

All Saints' Church, London Road, Ascot, SL5 8DQ

Friday 16 September 2011

Pakistan's shame - at home and exported

We have highlighted the ubiquitous practice of denying aid to Christians in Pakistan after disasters like the flood. While our focus is naturally on Christians, we have never made light of the fact that it is not only Christians who are affected. Here we have another report about these practices, this time affecting 'scheduled castes' among the Hindu's (ie Dalits / untouchables etc) in the Sindh province. They are denied aid, with Mosque leaders telling them that the food is only for Muslims. They are even prevented from drinking water from the fountains set up outside the camp.

SHAME!!

In another report from Africa, we find out about the latest escalation in Sudan. Now church leaders are being threatened with death by texts. Attacks have been made on a bishop's house (fortunately the bishop was away). The texts say they want Sudan to be a purely Islamic state so they want to exterminate infidels and destroy the churches. The recipients are warned that they have been monitored and their 'anti-Islamic' activities observed, and if they don't stop..... The texts are part of a broader campaign, where every two weeks extremists from the fringes of the Indian Subcontinent, including Pakistan, arrive to be trained in secret camps and are then sent out to preach Islam and destroy churches. I have a question of these men. Is your religion so worthless and powerless that the only way it can advance is threats and destruction? Surely a worthwhile religion would have no need of such pathological violence and destruction to advance its cause because it would win adherents by the attraction of goodness and coherent arguments? Jesus (whom you consider a prophet) warned about people like you. He said that you can judge a man (and a teaching) by its fruit. A good tree produces good fruit and a bad one bad. If your ideology produces such wicked fruit of destruction and death, how are we to judge you and it?

SHAME!!

More to follow...

Has the Bible been changed?

Pastor Naveed Malik

A common accusation that Muslim apologists make is that the bible has been changed - this they need to do as an explanation as to why these documents which are supposed to be compatible with Muslim doctrines actually aren't.
Here is a link to a page on the Christians in Pakistan website, where Pastor Naveed Malik discusses this issue
We also understand one of our supporters, Nathanael Lewis, has written an unpublished book that touches on similar issues in regard to the New Testament, although not directly addressing the Muslim arguments. In the future there may be an arrangement where the book can be made available as an ebook, and some of the funds go to the BPCA. Watch this blog!

Wednesday 14 September 2011

A different kind of culture war - UK style

Occasionally we will post on something outside our normal area, and this is one of those occasions.
It's Christians vs Athiests / Humanists, and the results to date are rather interesting. Enjoy!

Tuesday 13 September 2011

More from lawless Pakistan

A brief round up of news that may be of interest :
Firstly, we see, yet again, the wickedness of the Taliban. Outraged that residents had formed a 'peace lashkar' (militia) to defend themselves against the Taliban, the Taliban decided to attack a school bus on the edge of the City of Peshawar. The gun attack killed the driver and four children.

Some potentially good news was a government minister emphasising the government's commitment to harmony between Muslim and non-Muslims. Specifically it was about the prospective introduction of a Minorities Protection bill in parliament, addressing, among other things, Marriage registration legislation for various minority groups in Pakistan. Some caveats however - of course a minister for harmony will say such things to a minister of a Western democracy. As we have seen, though, such words are cheap. Actions will be the proof of the pudding. Also part of the plans involve reactivating 'interfaith harmony committees' across the country. Seems a good idea, but the concern is that these will just be a rehash of the 'reconciliation meetings' where the instigators or inciters of violence against minorities simply use them to force their agenda on the minorities.

Finally, from Lahore, we have more news of attacks on poor Christians, this time not with guns or bombs or kidnappings, but by bulldozers and official lies. Many dozens of impoverished Christian families were given less than a days notice that their homes were to be bulldozed to make way for a road to a new fruit market. Officials claimed that the residents had been given three notifications in the previous months, but the residents had no knowledge until the day before notice. Scheduled meetings with senior officials were cancelled when the officials happened to be 'out of the city' and so could not be appealed to. Police were officially called in to protect the bulldozers from these dangerous Christians, many of whom did not have time to clear their possessions before the bulldozers moved in. The community had moved there after similarly being forced out of another area 13 years ago by another 'anti-enroachment' operation. They managed to (at least temporarily) save their church from the bulldozers by demonstrating in front of it and by women occupying it and praying.

Sunday 11 September 2011

Under-reported news from round the world

Scald marks on Christian convert Afghan Asylum seeker


Often we complain about events concerning Pakistani Christians that should make the news, but don't.

Here are a few under (or non) reported news items from round the world. First up is the report about an Afghan convert to Islam who fled and sought asylum in Norway. There in a Norwegian asylum centre, after deducing he had converted to Christianity because he did not fast during Ramadan, other Afghan asylum seekers decided they had to 'enact jihad', so they grabbed him, knocked him to the ground with a pot of boiling water and then poured it all over him. The convert, 'Ali' (not his real name, which he refused to give, due to the danger of further repercussions in the asylum centre!) was taken to hospital, while the his room was trashed. When he came back the next day and tried to enter his room, an acidic substance had been smeared all over his door handle. Ali and the other Christian converts are fearful for their lives, even though they are in a Norwegian asylum centre - the Muslims have determined to kill them. There have been reports from time to time of similar sentiment against converts to Christianity in the UK asylum system. In matters like these, Western politicians should heed the teaching of Jesus - that mercy be shown to the merciful, and the corollary, as stated by Jesus' brother James in the New Testament - 'judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful.' James 2.13 and also the parable of the wicked servant. Those who engage in such behaviour are not worthy of refugee status and should be forcibly returned to their countries of origin in response to the contempt they have shown for the mercy shown them. Story Source : Barnabas Fund

Another story I have been watching for a while, and is only just starting to come to light a little in the Main stream media is the Zimbabwean governments war on the Anglican church in Zimbabwe, primarily because it is Anglican - eg deemed British. Of course, this violent regime has been attacking churches and pastors of all stripes, but there is a particular campaign against the Anglican church.

Finally, and I haven't seen this even in Israeli media, but a friend visiting Jerusalem has said that as the news came of the storming of the Cairo embassy, the Palestinians in Jerusalem have been letting off fireworks in celebration and throwing parties. Tensions are high, he says. Echoes of 9/11 - remember how the Palestinian street reacted then.... Palestinian society desperately needs Jesus to save them from this wicked and evil culture of death and anti-semitism. Ditto Egyptian society, and Pakistani society, and.... the list could go on....