Listeners:
Top listeners:
-
play_arrow
Pakistan Christian Gets Death Sentence On Good Friday
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
FAISALABAD, PAKISTAN (Worthy News) – A Pakistani anti-terrorism court sentenced a Christian man to death on Good Friday on controversial charges of blasphemy against Islam, Christians told Worthy News.
The court in the city of Faisalabad handed down the death penalty to Pervaiz, also known as Kodu Masih, for allegedly desecrating the Koran, deemed a holy book by Muslims. He also received a fine of roughly $12,500 in local currency, Worthy News learned.
Trial observers said the court acquitted the other two accused, Daud William Masih and Shahid Aftab, also known as Boby Masih, giving them “the benefit of the doubt.”
The alleged wrongdoing sparked attacks by an angry Muslim mob in the Jaranwala area against Christian communities on August 16, 2023.
The mob ransacked and torched numerous churches and Christian homes at the time, Worthy News documented.
Sardar Mushtaq Gill, founder of advocacy group LEAD Pakistan Ministries, told Worthy News that the international community should “move beyond statements of concern and take meaningful action.”
He warned that blasphemy laws are now “being weaponized in increasingly deceptive ways” in Pakistan, a mainly Muslim nation, including the use of women “as honey traps” to implicate innocent individuals falsely.
‘PATTERN OF ABUSE’
“This pattern of abuse,” Gill stated, “has turned the law into a tool of exploitation and entrapment rather than justice. The world must not remain silent as innocent lives are destroyed.”
News about the death sentence came while another man was reportedly lynched and killed when a few hundred workers of a religious party stormed a place of worship belonging to the Ahmadi community in Karachi’s Saddar area on Friday to prevent it from observing religious rituals, according to the police.
A statement from Ahmadi Muslim community spokesperson Amir Mehmood said about 40 members gathered inside to perform their religious rites. Deputy Inspector General of Police Syed Asad Raza said some 400 Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) party workers gathered at the hall near the mobile market where the attack happened.
The victim, Laeeq Cheema, 46, was “filming the TLP workers near Hashu Centre when the mob started beating him and killed him,” the police official added in published remarks.
TLP is known as a far-right Islamist political party known for its violent protests against any changes to the blasphemy law in Pakistan or those deemed dangerous to its teachings, including even some Muslims.
“Pakistan’s notorious blasphemy laws are often used to target minority groups, but Christians are disproportionately affected,” explained advocacy group Open Doors. “Indeed, roughly a quarter of all blasphemy accusations target Christians, who make up just 1.8 percent of the population.”
It has ranked Pakistan 8th on its annual World Watch List of 50 nations, where it says Christians face most persecution for their faith in Christ.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
Investigations continued Friday after a suspected Islamist gunman opened fire in a classroom at Old Dominion University in the U.S. state of Virginia on Thursday, killing a Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) instructor and wounding two others before he was subdued by students and died, officials said.
All six crew members aboard a U.S. refueling aircraft have died after the plane crashed over western Iraq, the U.S. military confirmed Friday, as fighting between the United States, Israel, and Iran continued to intensify.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday that Iran’s newly installed supreme leader is likely wounded, disfigured, and hiding underground as the Islamic Republic reels from the opening blows of the war with the United States and Israel.
Bible sales in Britain have surged to their highest levels since records began, reflecting a growing spiritual interest across the nation—particularly among younger generations.
A damaged Russian gas tanker is drifting unmanned through the Mediterranean Sea, prompting Malta to prepare emergency measures while tensions linked to the war in Ukraine spill into Europe’s energy and security landscape.
Iran launched a new wave of drone and missile attacks on Gulf countries Thursday, the 13th day of the United States-Israel war against Tehran, with strikes reported in Bahrain and other states, sending oil prices sharply higher and raising concerns among foreign workers, including Christians.
Nearly 25,000 Christians, many of them impoverished sanitation workers and day laborers, face possible eviction from their homes in Pakistan’s capital after authorities ordered them to vacate two settlements within days, Christians familiar with the situation confirmed Thursday.
WHO WE ARE
The Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs encapsulate the beauty, wisdom, and eternal truths found in the Bible, creating an immersive experience that resonates with believers and seekers alike.
CONTACT
- +1 908 280-4246
- Essex County, USA
- info@tnjrfm.com