The truth always comes out!

An image of our newest member Xavier William

Here is a true and clearer report of what is happening in Pakistan from our brother on the ground Xavier Williams (sic):

Hi,

Here are the pictures of today`s funeral the boy's postmortem and the Protests in Sialkot.

The Boy's real name is Robert Danish, he was 19 years old. he was having the affair with a Muslim girl for the past 3 years. He married her and the girl's family objected to the marriage and falsely accused the boy of Blasphemy.

The boy was arrested on the Sept 11th 2009, and was sent to jail on a 14 day judicial remand.

Police officer's have been torturing him and he was found dead on 15th Sept 2009 at 5am in his cell. Our Police authority have said that he has hanged himself, but a postmortem has shown that his ribs were broken and other wounds on his body have contributed to his death.

Robert Danish's Funeral was held at the CTI ground, Sialkot on 16th September 2009. The father of Robert Danish and his family insisted on burying him in their native village Jhethe Key. However the Police administration did not permit this and pressured Riasat Masih his father to bury him in Sialkot. The native village of Robert Danish is 20 kilometer from Sialkot city but due to anger among Christians in towns and villages of Sialkot, the district Punjab Government did not allow the pro funeral procession to travel Jhethe Key.

The protest on the funeral became chaotic when the police had to use tear gas and lathi charged the protestors. The protestors were trying to damage the public property.

Thanks to the efforts of Mr. Tarcis Javed and the MPA Kamran Micehal the Civil Lines Sialkot Police Station registered FIR against jail official on killing of Robert Danish.

Mr. Tarcis Javed and Mr. Rizwan Paul the President of "Life for All" have been a prominent figure in the whole incident. They went the extra mile and supported the grieving family. They went to the jail authorities, the court, went for the FIR and also arranged the funeral. The protestors have been demanding the repealing of the Blasphemy law.

This simple but clear report of the situation surrounding the death of Robert Danish (name now confirmed) is exactly what we need for our community. Finally our people in Pakisatn can get theor message across without the mixing up of information from other media establishments. I am grateful to the work being undertaken by Mr Tracis Javed and MPA Kamran and extend thanks from the whole British Pakistani Community who I hope will write comments of thanks on this blog...Please do!

Negligence??!! - how can murder be Negligence!

here is another image of the Funeral of Fanish Masih it was attended by thousands at the CT College in Sialkot. Sialkot was the Birth place of my Father Waheeb Chowdhry (RIP) he and his two elder brothers Najeeb Chowdhry (RIP) and Mujeeb Chowdhry founded the first ever Asian Christian Church in the UK and were in essence forerunners of the existing Pakistani Church framework here in Britain. If my Father is watching the atrocities occurring in Pakistan he would be weeping as he was a very emotional man and loved his home town the surrounding village and the country of Pakistan - visiting with avid frequency.

Reports about Christian riots in Jethikey, Sumbrial may be true but are the culmination of a ransacked and bullied community of Christians, unable to grieve the loss of a favourite, due to a bizarre Policing decision, preventing the burial of Fanish Masih AKA Robert Danish in his town of birth and the particularly dubious circumstances surrounding his death. More than 1,500 male and female Christians participated in the sit-in. They were demanding registration of a murder case against the officials of the Sialkot district jail for allegedly torturing to death Fanish Masih in jail. As many as 11 Christians, including Sohan Lal, Bashir Masih, Javed Allah Ditta, Samuel Masih, Emanuel Masih and Pitras Masih, were seriously injured during the police baton charge that ensued after a reported raid on local businesses.

Dawn reports that:

"The police were well prepared to face any untoward situation and a police contingent was called in from the entire Gujranwala division to be deployed in Jaithikey and Sialkot city.
Following strong protests by the Christians, Civil Lines police registered a case under Section 319 of the PPC against the jail superintendent and other officials for their negligence in their duty."

So why the need to move the funeral from the home town of Fanish Masih? Moreover, how can a purported murder be classed as negligence....? Should this not be a murder inquiry that should deescalate to a negligence inquiry of the autopsy report indicates that a suicide is the most likely cause of death..? Something seems amiss to me!

The Police seem to only want to challenge Christians for breaches of the law? Reports in general,

focus on the Christian response to an atrocity on their community and not the violent attack meted out on them.

Poor Lice! Parasitic Police if you prefer!

Why is it when ever a tragedy occurs people all rush in and enquire into the obvious defects in an organisation or a situation and forget to stall their response and look at the wider and often aetiological (causal) or symptomatic comcerns. Our Human Rights Groups in Pakistan are quite right the Policing authorities in Sialkot province need to be investigated for the "Murder in Custody" which would seem to be a pre-meditated action if found to be true and hence regarded as Murder in the first degree with serious implications on any perpertrators of this immoral and illegal act that has caused continued friction, unrest and anxiety to the community of Sumbrial. However, in this fight for justice I do hope the other factors that have contributed to this malady of judgement are also thoroughly investigated inter alia;

• Why was the father of the victim arrested?
• Why is there so many police around teh coffin of the victim (see picture above) if they are present for the protection of the visitors to the burial and to prevent civil riot, should they not provide a wider circle of protection and allow the Family and Friends of Robert Danish AKA Fanish Masih with the solace that stems from an opportunity to grieve in peace? Could their bullish presence at the funeral and the purported involvement in the death of this victim not be classed as an incitement towards hatred...?
• Why to date have their been no arrests against any members of the mob that bullied and frightened a Christian Community out of their homes?

I hope a more incisive and rigourous inquiry will recognise the flaws in the existing Pakistani Policing culture, especially in respect to the evident 2nd class treatment of minority groups such as ours, the heavy handed over authoritarian approach to policing and the lack of diversity of faith in the practitioners within the Policing establishment.

What transpires could have everlasting consequences on the situation in pakistan and I urge brothers and sisters to continue this campaign for justice.

Learn more about teh mob habded approach to policing and the furore that transpired at the recent funeral of our Brother Robert Danish AKA Fanish Masih RIP by following this link.

Kind words spur us on!

Please encourage others to Join the BPCA Blogger Family!

The British Pakistani Christian Association came into being following the tragedy of Gojra. My Brothers and I felt distraught and disillusioned by the lack of cohesiveness in our community and embarked on this mission, to unify our people, so that we are better able to challenge the forces that conspire against us. These forces include the continual resistance of consecutive Pakistani Governments, belligerently refusing to abrogate the unjust Blasphemy Law (Section 298A and 295B&C of the Pakistani Penal Code), the senior leadership in our community unwilling to disciple the younger generation or to allow opportunity for new direction and the constant spiritual war we all face as Christians by our deadliest foe Satan. Our aim is to unify Pakistani Christian Brothers and Sisters across the globe, to raise an army of support for our persecuted brothers and sisters, wherever they may be and to create a strong fellowship community. Since yesterday I have received email exchanges from brother Joesph Patres and his gentle and encouraging comments have spurred me on. Joesph is a new member on a growing list of patrons to this blog. Last nights total visitors hit the 59 mark - that is phenomenal for a blog less than a month old! The day before we had 41 Readers and in recent days there has been a huge increase in readership.

Joesph is trying to uncover the real name for the victim of the Sumbrial attack. "Dawn" Calls him Fanish Masih and "Pakistani Christian Post" have named him Robert Danish and Falish Masih. Numerous other media have also provided combinations of his name. His age is read on Dawn as 20, Pakistani Christian Post as 19 and on another media articles as 25. Some clarity would be great and a historical obituary would be much appreciated - as this martyr deserves to be remembered for his courage to give himself up to Police authorities who arrested his father without a warrant to do so. I am very surprised this diabolical stunt by the Police has been overlooked...? Why on earth, were Police Officer's arresting the Father for the sins of the son?! Perhaps an even larger enquiry into Police misuse of authority is required? Could someone please take up this debate...?

Here is the most recent email from brother Joesph:

Dear Sir,

I have asked Shams to provide correct information. I just learned situation is getting worsening after the funeral. I have been receiving your emails, but not got chance to comment on you blog. Keep the good work up.

Regards, Joseph

Through the grapevine! Murder in first degree!

Messages are being received of a purported action being taken against the Station Superintendant for the prison in which Robert Danish recently perished. Early news would suggest that an autopsy has indicated that the death of our brother is a homicide. This news has not yet been corroborated with any hard evidence and neither have we had enough leads to substantiate this news. We will however, keep you all posted!

Chairmans Update

Image of Rana Sanaullah Khan

Here is a message from our Chairman Alex Chowdhry:

This Saturday, I attended an audience with the Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan. At the event, he was at pains, to stress that Pakistan was a victim of external forces acting within the Pakistan Interior. However, his presentation was not convincing because he seemed to imply that Pakistan in its own right - a nuclear power. Was at the mercy of external forces such as the American Government and extreme Islamist/Islamic Groups imported from Afghanistan. However, he neglected or failed to admit Pakistan's complicity with these forces, during his own parties previous periods in office. Additionally, he failed to convince the meeting of the necessity for the Blasphemy Law - within Pakistan's constitution and failed to put forward a more inclusive and less divisive legislative option. Moreover, there was no constructive proposal - as Justice Minister for the affected province - in how justice would be sought against those in high standing, whether it be religious or statutory sector organisations or for preventing future occurrences of this type.

On a lighter note, it was fascinating to see how sycophantic Pakistanis are to their politicians. There was none of the great debating or robust questioning, that we are used to in the West....?

Perhaps others who attended would like to share their views....

United we stand - our aim... "Justice"!

In a number of recent protests leading voices from the civil rights movements of Pakistan are collaborating for justice for Robert Danish, the purported victim of a "Murder in Custody". Brother Asif Mall reports (sic):

*Breaking News: Christian MNA of Pakistan Akram Masih Gill arrested, condemnation *

The Human Liberation Commission of Pakistan (HLCP) has protested against the alleged suicide of a Christian boy, Danish Masih, in police custody in Central Jail Sialkot.

Addressing the protesters in front of the Lahore Press Club (LPC), HLCP Chairman Aslam Pervez Sahotra said that a fake blasphemy case was registered against Danish just because of bad blood and he was killed in the jail.

He said why the government had not brought into the books the real culprits in such cases.

He demanded severe punishment to the culprits in this case.

Meanwhile, *PML-Q Minority Wing President Akram Masih Gill has been arrested by police authorities, while he was attending Danish Masih’s funeral in
Sialkot.* Earlier he alleged that jail staff had killed Robert Danish Masih, an accused of blasphemy, in Central Jail Sialkot.

According to a press statement issued on Tuesday, Akram said that minorities were being victimised under the garb of Blasphemy Law. He said that Danish was sent to jail on false charges of blasphemy where he was tortured to death by the jail staff.

He said that the Christians could not think of committing blasphemy of the Holy Quran. He demanded the government amend the Blasphemy Law.

Meanwhile, the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) has said that the extra judicial murder of Fanish Robert, accused of blasphemy in Sialkot, was sheer negligence of the government.

In a press release on Tuesday, NCJP condemned the killing and said that they refused to accept the version of the local authorities that he committed suicide spontaneously after he was shifted to jail from police lock up.

They demanded a credible probe and registration of a case under murder charges in this regard.

They demanded that all those involved directly or indirectly in the murder of the innocent youth should be brought to justice.

Brother Tariq Chaudhry also sent a link to Dawn with a similar story Tariq wrote:

Dear all in Christ,

I send you another incident an M.N.A has been arrested.
Please do all pray for Christians in Pakistan.
GOD BLESS
TARIQ CHAUDHRY(I.C.N)

Read more by following this link to Dawn.

Here are another three very good articles (1) (2) (3)