Pakistan police condemned for doing little to prevent Christian persecution

The Asian Human Rights Commission reported increased incidences of Christian persecution in Pakistan and condemned the police for doing little to prevent them.

The human rights group gleaned information provided by Christians' True Spirit (CTS) and Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS) London that an even more aggressive harassment by the predominantly Muslim nation is suffered by the Christian minorities in a particular Christian village.

"The Christian community of Chak 44, in Tehsil Phaliyan, Mandi Bahaudin's cordoning off by the Muslim clerics and their supporters in the area, must be immediately halted," the AHRC said in a report back in May.

The group created an appeal letter addressed to Pakistani authorities urging them to prevent instances where Christians are forced to choose between conversions to Islam and abandoning their homes.

It cited a case back in April that triggered a series of onslaught against the Christian community.

It all started when Muslims accused 28-year-old Imran Masih, a rural health sweeper and also a Christian, of possessing a blasphemous video clip on his mobile phone. Masih denied the allegations but the Muslim men already destroyed his phone and beat him up. When the Muslims involved the village's mosque committee and issued a Fatwa, Masih and his family fled the village fearing for their lives.

Since then, the Christians have suffered from threats of having their houses burned by the Muslims as well as from social boycott. The Muslims also force the Christians to either convert to Islam or leave their homes. About 75 percent of the Christians villagers have left since then but those who remained continue to live under threats.

"The situation is getting worse with each passing day. The Christians are living in constant fear that their houses may be set on fire by a mob if the police does not provide them with round the clock security," said the AHRC.

However, the Christian villagers complained of lukewarm efforts by the police who neither spoke with them nor patrolled the night to ensure their security.

"The state must proactively work towards encouraging interfaith harmony and prosecute perpetrators of violence in the name of religion without fail or delay," the AHRC urged.