Pakistan: Orphan Christian boy found brutally tortured and burned to death

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

Human Liberation Commission of Pakistan activists
 shout slogans during a protest against alleged
anti-Christian violence (AFP Photo/Arif Ali)

FAISALABAD, PAKISTAN (ANS) -- The violence against Christians in Pakistan is continuing unabated, and the latest shocking incident, monitored by the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net), involves a young Christian boy who was brutally tortured before being killed in Faisalabad, Pakistan, which is about 100 miles from Lahore.

According to reports, 11-year-old Samuel Yaqoob had been missing since the evening of August 20, when he had stepped out of his home in a Christian colony to go to the market to buy food for his family.

Wilson Chowdhry, Chairman of the British Pakistani Christian Association, who has been tracking this shocking case said, “After extensive searching his body was found near a drain in the Christian colony, bearing marks of horrific torture, with the murder weapon nearby.

“His nose, lips and belly had been sliced off, and his family could hardly recognize him because the body was so badly burnt. Some 23 wounds by a sharp weapon have been identified in the autopsy. When sending his body for an autopsy, police raised the possibility of sodomy.

“The police, and the mother, according to some reports named Asia Bibi [not the same Asia Bibi as the iconic blasphemy law death sentence victim], said that there had been no demands for ransom, nor any accusation of blasphemy.

“Parts of Pakistani culture have a strong homosexual pederast culture, and Christian and other minority boys are especially susceptible to rape and abuse because of the powerlessness of their community and their despised status,” added Chowdhry. “In one case fairly recently, a Christian boy was kidnapped, raped, tortured and killed by a police officer, his body similarly being dumped in a drain.”

Local Assistant Sub-Inspector Shafiq Ahmed said police were investigating “all aspects of the case.”

He said Yaqoob’s father died a few months ago and the family was “very poor”, which he said ruled out the possibility that he was kidnapped for ransom.

“We did not receive a complaint of blasphemy. However we are investigating this aspect as well. The autopsy will tell whether the boy was sodomized,” Ahmed said.

The killing comes days after an 11-year-old Christian girl with Down’s Syndrome was arrested by police in Islamabad on a charge of blasphemy for allegedly burning pages of the Quran.

Rimsha Masih’s family and dozens of Christians fled their homes due to threats from Muslims.

In that case, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari directed the Interior Ministry to investigate the incident and to provide protection to the local Christians.

Pakistani Christian leader addresses challenges that Christians in his country are facing

He blames the lack of political leadership

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

RAWALPINDI, PAKISTAN (ANS) -- Mr. Riaz Anjum, Chairman of the Pakistan Christian Movement and an advocate who is practicing as a private lawyer in Pakistan, has told a conference in Rawalpindi, about the many challenges facing Christians in his country.

Riaz Anjum

Speaking at a special event that took place on Thursday, January 26, 2012, and attended by Christian political parties, clergy and human rights activists, Anjum said, “There is no doubt that poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, and lack of quality education, are challenges for Pakistani Christians, but our politicians have failed to address these issues.”

He went on to say, “We have gathered here to discuss challenges faced by Pakistani Christians and solution to secure religious freedom. I think it is very much necessary to discuss the reasons of these problems due to which Christians are facing these challenges.”

Riaz Anjum told the participants at the well-attended event organized by overseas Christian Pakistanis and held in a local hotel, that a "nation, country or community" makes progress, but credit goes to politicians and when a nation, country or community fails to achieve the destination or to make progress "discredit" also goes to politicians.

“I am of the opinion that we are facing these challenges due to our failure in politics. Our politicians have completely failed to lead Christians towards their destination: helping them to attain economic prosperity and getting quality and higher education," said Mr. Anjum.

“This is the reasons we are far behind than other communities in Pakistan in social, educational and economic fields.”

He stated that the “failure of Christian politicians” started before the existence of Pakistan.

Logo for Pakistan's Independence Day

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan gained its independence from Great Britain on August 14, 1947, when it was partitioned from India.

The partition was set forth in the Indian Independence Act 1947 and resulted in the dissolution of the British Raj. It resulted in a struggle between the new states of India and Pakistan and displaced up to 12.5 million people in the former British Indian Empire, with estimates of loss of life varying from several hundred thousand to a million. The violent nature of the partition created an atmosphere of mutual hostility and suspicion between India and Pakistan that plagues their relationship even to this day.

“There were many communities in the subcontinent, such as Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and Christians,” Anjum went on to say. “During the partition, Hindus got India and Muslims succeeded in getting Pakistan and, to satisfy Sikh community, Punjab was divided and east Punjab was given to the mainly Sikh community because they refused to live under the domination of Muslims.

“I do not say that Christians should have struggled for separate state or province; I just say that Christian politicians of that era should have struggled for some districts to live together. If Christian politicians had struggled and taken some districts, the social, economic and political situation of Christians would have been completely different today.

“It is political failure of Christian politicians of that era that they could not visualize the future of Christians,” he added.

The lawyer said that after partition and the creation of their new country, Pakistan Christian politicians "could not set the destination" for their nation.

Grief-stricken Pakistani Christian women after another violent act in their community

“They did not have vision for social, political and economic progress of Christians," he said. "The Christian politicians, who came during the period of 1947 to 1990, did not have any vision or agenda except for development work of the streets and sewerage.”

He also stated that these politicians had been pursuing what he called a “one-point agenda” which is to repeal the country’s controversial blasphemy laws. Anjum said that with such a "short-sighted" agenda, “how can such a nation make progress?”

He added, “It is the misfortune of Pakistani Christians that they have been facing a crises of leadership since the existence of Pakistan. A strong, major, organized and visionary political party is the solution of all these problems. Such a party should not be an ordinary party, but must work like a state.

“There should be some institutions or departments under the flag of a [Christian] party. There should be department of international affairs for lobbying for the interests of Christians and for gaining the sympathy of the international community.”

He also said, “There should be department of economic development for the economic prosperity of Christians and also a department of higher education for the educational development of our people.

“There was time when a number of people and sources were considered strong element for nations, but now the time has changed. Now it is war of brains and the quality of persons.

“You can take the example of Finland, whose total population is less than that of Karachi but, the exports of one company, Nokia of Finland, is more than total exports of Pakistan. I mean that now quality matters. We should emphasize on quality education.

“Although we are less in numbers, we can become a strong nation by getting quality education. All such institutions should be under one flag of that political party.”

Mr. Anjum was one of many speakers at the conference. 

Seehttp://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2012/s12010167.htm for another report.

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Dan Wooding, 71, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for 48 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS) and was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. He now hosts the weekly “Front Page Radio” show on KWVE in Southern California which is also carried throughout the United States. The program is also aired in Great Britain on Calvary Chapel Radio UK and also in Belize and South Africa. Besides this, Wooding is a host for His Channel Live, which is carried via the Internet to some 192 countries and also provides a regular commentary for Worship Life Radio on KWVE. You can follow Dan Wooding on Facebook under his name there or at ASSIST News Service. He is the author of some 44 books, one of which is his autobiography, “From Tabloid to Truth”, which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, press this link. Wooding, who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, has also recently released his first novel “Red Dagger” which is available this link.

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Freedom for all?

India (MNN) ― Kite flying, flag raising and vivid displays of orange, green and white could be seen yesterday as India celebrated 65 years of freedom from British oppression.

On August 15, 1947, India celebrated its first National Independence Day with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru officially unfurling their national flag. Its colors represented hope, courage and peace within their nation.

While these ideals are praised by the country of India, many Christians within its borders still wait for the same type of peace and freedom for themselves in this overwhelmingly-Hindu population.

Lee DeYoung with Words of Hope states, "In the past couple of years, there has been some noteworthy opposition to Christianity, increases in some places in persecution, [and] violent incidents which have prompted many Christians to adopt a lower profile."

The independence gained in India changed the face of Christian missions there. "Conversion" took on a whole new political meaning, and upper caste Hindus felt threatened by the large amount of lower caste Hindus converting to Christianity.

Hindus felt the conversions were politically motivated in the wake of a newly-birthed government, and they set out to stop the "invasion" of more missionaries. Various forms of persecution range from anti-conversion laws oppressing ministry, to harassment and imprisonment of Christian workers.

But with evidence of increased oppression, there is also an increase of Christian believers in India. According to Operation World, 26 million evangelicals currently make up 2.2 percent of India's population.

In advancing the Gospel, Words of Hope ministers to Christians in some of the most oppressed regions of northern India through radio broadcast programs. DeYoung says, "We've been encouraged that in every place we've been, there seems to be an increased listenership to the programs that we sponsor."

Over 500 million people are potentially reached with Words of Hope's Hindi Gospel broadcast program. Please pray that Christians in India would start to gain political recognition and the same religious freedoms enjoyed by others in their country.