Morning Star News (2025)

29/07/2025

Muslim Employer Forcibly Converts Christian Boy in Pakistan
Minor not permitted to see family, attorney says.

By Christian Daily International-Morning Star News
LAHORE, Pakistan, July 29, 2025 (Christian Daily International-Morning Star News) – The Muslim employer of a Christian boy forcibly converted him to Islam and is keeping him in his illegal custody, the family’s attorney said.

In Sultan Town, Sargodha in Punjab Province, 14-year-old Shamraiz Masih went to a market on July 21 and did not return, attorney Tahir Naveed Chaudhry said. Shamraiz had begun as an apprentice at a motorcycle repair workshop owned by Rana Munir after the death of his father, Imran Masih, four months ago, Chaudhry said.

After searching for him without success, Shamraiz’s brothers registered a First Information Report (FIR) of abduction.

“Meanwhile, someone informed them that they had seen Shamraiz and Munir entering the Madina Ghausia Madrassa [Islamic seminary] located in the Company Bagh neighborhood,” Chaudhry told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. “When the boys went to the madrassa and asked for their brother, they were told that Shamraiz had willfully converted to Islam and was no longer a part of their family.”

Shamraiz, a member of the local Presbyterian church, belongs to a very poor family, and his widowed mother was forced to send him to work after his father’s death. Chaudhry said that Shamraiz’s brother Sahil Masih had initially filed the abduction case against unknown persons, but when Munir’s role was exposed, his name was added to the FIR as primary suspect.

The attorney found that on July 22, an application was filed in the court of Rana Sohail Riaz, Magistrate Section-30 Sargodha, in the name of Shamraiz’s Muslim name, “Muhammad Umar,” seeking permission to record his statement in the abduction FIR registered by his brother, Sahil Masih.

“In the application, ‘Umar’ claimed that he was a 15-year-old ‘adult’ and had converted to Islam of his free will after getting ‘inspired’ by Islamic teachings,” Chaudhry said. “He also claimed that his brother had registered a fake abduction case against Rana Munir which should be dismissed because he had left home willingly.”

The magistrate issued notice to Sahil Masih and the investigation officer for Friday (July 25). Complying with the court’s directive, family members and their attorney appeared before the magistrate that day, but Shamraiz did not.

“Instead, the police submitted a document according to which Shamraiz had recorded his statement in the court of Muhammad Kashif Pasha, special judicial magistrate in Lahore, on July 24, reiterating his claim of willful conversion,” Chaudhry said. “After seeing the court’s document, Judge Riaz disposed of Shamraiz’s application.”

Those who forcibly converted Shamraiz to Islam intentionally got his statement recorded in a Lahore court to prevent the family from meeting their son, Chaudhry said.

“If Shamraiz had appeared in the court in Sargodha, he would have surely revealed the truth after seeing his mother and brothers, which is why they took him to Lahore,” he said. “We will now take this matter to the superior courts, because Shamraiz’s mother is his legal guardian even if the other side claims that he has converted to Islam.”

It was obvious that Munir forcibly converted Shamraiz to Islam to keep him in permanent bo***ge, Chaudhry said.

“There’s no other plausible reason for this alleged conversion,” he added.

The attorney, a former member of the Punjab Provincial Assembly, said that he had reached out to local Muslim leaders and to try to persuade them to help recover the boy.

“We told the religious leaders that we are not opposed to adults changing their faith, but we cannot remain silent on forced faith conversions of minor children,” he said. “However, we did not get any positive response from them.”

The issue of the boy’s forced faith conversion surfaced in the Punjab Provincial Assembly’s session on Friday (July 25), where Falbous Christopher, chairman of the standing committee on human rights and minorities affairs, and other Christian lawmakers condemned the act and sought the government’s intervention.

“The appeals of the boy’s widowed mother for his recovery have caused pain and anguish in the entire Christian community,” Christopher said. “How is it possible that only a 14-year-old illiterate boy got inclined towards Islam while his other family members are still Christian? Such incidents bring a bad name for the country, and it’s time that the government takes action against abduction and forced conversions of minor girls and boys.”

Attempts to forcibly convert Christian boys or men to Islam are rare in Pakistan. Christian and Hindu girls and young women are frequently abducted and forced to “convert” to Islam before being coerced into marrying a Muslim.

In September, a 17-year-old Christian boy, Samsoon Javed, who worked at a gas outlet owned by Umar Manzoor, a Muslim in Bhadru Minara village, Sheikhupura District, Punjab Province, was forcibly converted to Islam by his employer.

Some Muslims believe that the mere recitation of shahada (“Kalima” in Urdu, the Islamic proclamation of faith) is sufficient to convert a non-Muslim to Islam, even if there is no belief and no matter what circumstances surround the “conversion.” Once a person becomes a Muslim, he or she is considered apostate if they return to their original faith.

Apostasy is punishable by death, imprisonment or confiscation of property according to Islamic law, though in modern times this is rarely practiced at the state level. Some zealous Muslims, however, have believed they were doing the right thing by attacking or killing apostates.

Pakistan ranked eighth on Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List of the most difficult places to be a Christian.

If you would like to help persecuted Christians, visit https://morningstarnews.org/resources/aid-agencies/ for a list of organizations that can orient you on how to get involved.

If you or your organization would like to help enable Morning Star News to continue raising awareness of persecuted Christians worldwide with original-content reporting, please consider collaborating at https://morningstarnews.org/donate/?

Photo: Shamraiz Masih, 14, of Sultan Town, Sargodha, Pakistan, was forcibly converted to Islam by his Muslim employer on July 21, 2025. (CDI-MSN courtesy of family)
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Morning Star News is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that relies solely on contributions to offer original news reports of persecuted Christians. By providing reliable news on the suffering church, Morning Star News’ mission is to empower those in the free world to help and to encourage persecuted Christians that they are not forgotten or alone. For free subscription, contact [email protected]; to make tax-deductible donations, visit https://morningstarnews.org/donate/? or send check to Morning Star News, 34281 Doheny Park Rd., # 7022, Capistrano Beach, CA 92624, USA.

29/07/2025

Pastors and other Christians Brutalized in Odisha State, India
Adherents of tribal religion ambush 20 church leaders.

By Our India Correspondent
NEW DELHI, July 29, 2025 (Morning Star News) – The father of one of 20 pastors ambushed in eastern India last month was soaked in blood from the attack as he told his son, “I don’t think I will make it. I just want you to know that I will be with my Maker, and you should not worry for me.”

He then collapsed, unconscious. The 52-year-old Sukra Madi was one of 10 Christians hospitalized and 30 injured in the attack as the pastors were returning from an event to bless farm crops in Kotamateru village, in Odisha state’s Malkangiri District, on June 21.

Madi is still struggling to recover from the attack by 30 to 40 villagers who practice tribal religion, said his son, Pastor Manglu Madi, who had tried to rescue him from the assailants armed with spades, axes and wooden sticks.

“I was trying to escape but saw they had caught my father – how could I desert him?” Pastor Madi told Morning Star News. “I somehow pulled him into a nearby house. Blood was oozing from his head and his clothes were soaked.”

Local tradition calls for an annual chicken sacrifice to bless agricultural produce in what is known as a “seed blessing,” but the 11 Christian families of Kotamateru had opted instead to hold a Christian form of the ceremony, inviting pastors from about 15 villages to bless their seed and partake in a meal.

They had obtained verbal permission from police, who promised they would handle any potential trouble, said Pastor Somru Muchaki.

“The Christians wanted to submit a written application, but the officer assured that all was under control,” he added.

Pastors arrived for the event on motorbikes that morning, and after a worship service, Bible teaching and prayer, they blessed the seed and had a fellowship luncheon. They left for their respective villages at about 12:30 p.m.

“It’s a remote area surrounded by jungle, so we decided to leave together,” said Pastor Madi.

As they rode past a large neem tree near the church site, the local residents stopped them.

“They began questioning our presence and objected to pastors coming from other villages,” Pastor Muchaki told Morning Star News. “We repeatedly explained it was for a seed blessing and lunch fellowship, but they wouldn’t listen. They accused us of carrying out conversions, even after we explained the purpose of our visit. Then they began to assault us. The attackers were locals and had clearly come prepared for violence.”

Several bystanders reportedly watched as the villagers used wooden sticks, spades, axes, knives and sickles to strike the pastors. Seven of the 10 Christians needing immediate hospitalization suffered critical head injuries requiring stitches.

“My brother-in-law sustained deep cuts on his head in two places when he tried to protect me from the assault,” Pastor Muchaki said.

The remoteness of the village delayed news of the assault, but one victim managed to contact a pastor near Malkangiri who arranged transport to rush the wounded to the district hospital.

Before the violence began, Pastor Muchaki had called a local Christian who alerted police. The officer called one of the assailants, who falsely claimed they were letting the pastors go, but after hanging up, the villagers grew violent.

After another call to police, an officer again ordered the mob to disperse, but the villagers ignored him and began attacking.

“They beat whoever they caught with sticks, knives, spades, axes, even kicking them while they lay on the ground,” said Pastor Madi. “They beat whoever they caught in a brutal manner. Ten people threw a Christian on the ground and would climb on him – hitting him with legs, wooden sticks, knives, spades, axes and whatever their hand could find.”

As blood began to pool, Pastor Muchaki called the officer directly and told him that his orders were not being followed and that the villagers would kill them all, he said. Again the officer scolded the villager, who lied that the Christians had already been released.

The assailants then demanded to know who had called the police, and after identifying Pastor Muchaki, they mercilessly beat him.

“They caught me by my collar and, taking out their sandals, shoes and slippers, they began to beat me with continuous blows,” he said.

During the assault, his phone fell and broke on the ground.

When his brother-in-law rushed to his aid, his head was severely injured in two places from sharp weapons.

“We could have defended ourselves; we were greater in number than the assaulters, but the Bible does not teach us to indulge in violence. So we took the blows,” Pastor Muchaki said.

Eventually he escaped to the jungle as he and others fled in various directions. Unable to escape the assailants, Sukra Madi was beaten until he fell unconscious.

In all, 30 Christians were assaulted, with 10 suffering bleeding injuries from sharp weapons, while others sustained internal injuries from blunt force, said Pastor Madi. The 10 hospitalized victims were treated for five days before being discharged, but four – Sukra Madi, Ganga Sodi, Podiya Kowasi and Erma Madi – developed complications and on July 7 had to be taken to MIMS Hospital in Bhadrachalam, in neighboring Andra Pradesh state, for further treatment.

“Doctors advised three of them to take the new medication prescribed and go back for a follow-up,” said Pastor Madi. “But my father’s case is complex, and he needs immediate surgery” but lacks the $1,600 to $1,700 USD for it. “I don’t know how to raise that money. So, we are just praying and pleading before God to heal my father without any medical surgery.”

Laxman Kumar Beti, one of the victims and a resident of the village, filed a complaint on June 22 at the Malkangiri police station, naming 16 assailants in First Information Report (FIR) 315/2025. Charges included “wrongful confinement,” “voluntarily causing hurt,” “causing grievous hurt,” “using dangerous weapons,” “criminal intimidation” and “common intention” under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023.

“Despite video evidence, medical proofs of fatal injuries, and a formal complaint, no arrests were made,” Bishop Pallab Lima, state general secretary of Rastriya Christian Morcha, told Morning Star News.

At the same time, police pressured the Christians to settle with the attackers in a “compromise” agreement, avoiding legal proceedings, said Pastor Muchaki.

“This is the third time Christians have been attacked since 2014 in this village, and every time, police pushed for compromise,” said the pastor, who that year sustained severe injuries to his head, ears, eyes and nose, besides bruises all over his body. “I had almost died. It was only a miracle that saved me then, I pray that another miracle would save my father this time.”

Forced ‘Compromise’
The Christians on July 6 were summoned to the local police station and were “threatened and pressured” to agree on a compromise, said Pastor Muchaki.

“We had no intentions to compromise, and we were very clear on that,” he said. “There was a huge language barrier that worsened matters.”

The Christians and the villagers belong to the Gondi tribe, whereas the police spoke Odia language, he said. When police insisted on compromise, the Christians could not understand and agreed to put their signatures on the settlement, which they thought was a form requesting their consent to take action against the perpetrators.

If they had known they were signing a “compromise,” they would have insisted that the villagers give in writing that they would have no objection to their worship and would never again disturb them, he said.

Though the officer in-charge told the Christians that if the villagers trouble them again, they should record video clips that police would certainly act on, the victims were very discouraged at their inaction.

“We had videos, pictures, medical report and blood oozing wounds speaking louder than words, enough to give adequate reasons to the police to take action, but they chose not to,” Pastor Muchaki said.

The Christians submitted a petition to the District Collector’s office, and although authorities said they would act after receiving medical reports, they never followed through.

“I suspect the authorities are trying to suppress our case and prevent legal action against the assailants,” Pastor Muchaki said.

Protests
After 10 days of police inaction, the Odisha unit of Rashtriya Christian Morcha, Malkangiri District Christian Manch and Voice Against Hate organized a peaceful protest on July 2 demanding immediate arrests of the perpetrators.

More than 7,000 people attended the rally.

Tensions flared when, in symbolic protest, the president of Voice Against Hate and a political leader attempted to mockingly garland Inspector Rigan Kindo of the Malkangiri police station, sarcastically “honoring” him for allowing the Christians to be beaten. Viewing this as public humiliation, Sub-Inspector Prabhata Gouda filed an FIR against 30 Christian leaders accusing them of “wrongful restraint,” “unlawful assembly,” “obstruction in public ways,” and “deterring public servants from discharging their duty.”

Among those named in the FIR were Bishop Pallab Lima and Manas Kumar Choudhary (Bhubaneswar), Bijay Khara (Kalimela), the Rev. Debendra Singh (Jeypore), Rajesh Patra (Koraput) and the Rev. Jitendra Khosla (Koraput).

Christian support organization Open Doors ranks India 11th on its 2025 World Watch List of countries where Christians face the most severe persecution. India stood at 31st place in 2013 but has steadily fallen in the rankings since Narendra Modi came to power as prime minister.

Religious rights advocates blame the increasingly hostile rhetoric of the National Democratic Alliance government, led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, which they say has emboldened Hindu extremists in India since Modi took power in May 2014.

If you would like to help persecuted Christians, visit https://morningstarnews.org/resources/aid-agencies/ for a list of organizations that can orient you on how to get involved.

If you or your organization would like to help enable Morning Star News to continue raising awareness of persecuted Christians worldwide with original-content reporting, please consider collaborating at https://morningstarnews.org/donate/?

Photo: Sukra Madi was beaten for his faith on June 21, 2025 in Kotamateru village, Malkangiri District, Odisha state, India. (Manglu Madi for Morning Star News)
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© 2025 Morning Star News. Articles/photos may be reprinted with credit to Morning Star News. https://morningstarnews.org

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Morning Star News is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that relies solely on contributions to offer original news reports of persecuted Christians. By providing reliable news on the suffering church, Morning Star News’ mission is to empower those in the free world to help and to encourage persecuted Christians that they are not forgotten or alone. For free subscription, contact [email protected]; to make tax-deductible donations, visit https://morningstarnews.org/donate/? or send check to Morning Star News, 34281 Doheny Park Rd., # 7022, Capistrano Beach, CA 92624, USA.

28/07/2025

Funeral Procession for 27 Christians Killed in Nigeria
Elderly and children slain in Plateau state.

By Christian Daily International-Morning Star News
ABUJA, Nigeria, July 28, 2025 (Christian Daily International-Morning Star News) – Residents in Plateau state, Nigeria on Friday (July 25) held a funeral procession for 27 Christians massacred in one village 10 days earlier despite warning authorities of the impending danger, sources said.

Accompanied by multitudes, they transported the 27 caskets in a pay-loader truck from a mortuary in Jos to their native Bindi (Jebbu) village, Riyom County, where they held a funeral following the unprovoked July 15 attack by Fulani herdsmen on the village.

The herdsmen attacked the predominantly Christian village at about 11 p.m. as residents slept.

“These are dead bodies of innocent Christians who were brutally and gruesomely murdered during their sleep by Muslim Fulani killer herdsmen and terrorists in a community situated less than 200 meters from the Special Task Force (STF), a military check point in Riyom Local Government Area,” rights activist James Nyango told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. “The fact that this community noticed and reported the imminent attack to the STF military officers at that military checkpoint makes it more worrisome, suspicious and raises many questions.”

Rather than issuing verbal condemnations, he said, the government should prioritize prevention of herdsmen attacks and religious genocide against Christians.

Area rights advocate Gideon Manjal asserted that the attack was a herdsmen ploy aimed at displacing indigenous Christians from their lands.

“This attack occurred despite the visible presence of security forces in and around the area, including armored military assets,” Manja said. “The identities and hideouts of these attackers are known to authorities, yet no meaningful action has been taken to dismantle them.”

Pam Dachungyang, a senator in the National Assembly from the area, said the herdsmen went house to house killing the elderly, women and children as they were sleeping.

“The recurring attacks, including previous ones in Jol and Rim villages, point to a deliberate effort to terrorize and displace farming communities which are predominantly Christian communities by armed Fulani herdsmen,” Dachungyang said in a press statement. “This cycle of daily, unprovoked attacks is an indictment on security agencies. The situation in Bindi (Jebu) is beyond tragic and stands to be condemned by all.”

“These are people whose primary occupation is farming, and the continued violence is not only destroying lives but also threatening food security and livelihoods,” Dachungyang said.

Berom youth leader Dalyop Solomon noted that the Fulani herdsmen set several houses ablaze and that many Christians were wounded, along with the 27 slain.

Area residet Chollom Gyang said the corpses were taken from the morgue at the Jos University Teaching Hospital in Jos. He identified 26 of the Christians killed in Bindi village as Sarah Badung Bagit, Dorcas Badung Bagit, Nzen David Musa, Dusu Gyang Jok, Jere Pius Davou, Martha David Sunday, Esther David Sunday, Gorat David Sunday, Martha Solomon, Hudung Musa Dalyop, Hudaing Gyaus Fondong, Ruda Gyang Fondong, Patience Solomon Sunday, Patience Musa Dalyop, Danlami Tongs Davou, Tabitha Yakubu Shok, Magdalane Yakubu Shok, Patience Yakubu Shok, Bitrus Garba Danboyi, Nyou Tanko Ngyok, Monday Sunday Davou, John Tanko Ngyok, Darwang Tanko, Davou Bulus, Pam Dung and Esther Paul.

“Twenty-seven corpses of the Christian victims of the July 15 attacks of Jebu Bindi village of Riyom LGA by Fulani terrorists were transported home for mass burial today, 25 July,” Gyang confirmed.

Numbering in the millions across Nigeria and the Sahel, predominantly Muslim Fulani comprise hundreds of clans of many different lineages who do not hold extremist views, but some Fulani do adhere to radical Islamist ideology, the United Kingdom’s All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom or Belief (APPG) noted in a 2020 report.

“They adopt a comparable strategy to Boko Haram and ISWAP and demonstrate a clear intent to target Christians and potent symbols of Christian identity,” the APPG report states.

Christian leaders in Nigeria have said they believe herdsmen attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria’s Middle Belt are inspired by their desire to forcefully take over Christians’ lands and impose Islam as desertification has made it difficult for them to sustain their herds.

Nigeria remained among the most dangerous places on earth for Christians, according to Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian. Of the 4,476 Christians killed for their faith worldwide during the reporting period, 3,100 (69 percent) were in Nigeria, according to the WWL.

“The measure of anti-Christian violence in the country is already at the maximum possible under World Watch List methodology,” the report stated.

In the country’s North-Central zone, where Christians are more common than they are in the North-East and North-West, Islamic extremist Fulani militia attack farming communities, killing many hundreds, Christians above all, according to the report. Jihadist groups such as Boko Haram and the splinter group Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), among others, are also active in the country’s northern states, where federal government control is scant and Christians and their communities continue to be the targets of raids, sexual violence, and roadblock killings, according to the report. Abductions for ransom have increased considerably in recent years.

The violence has spread to southern states, and a new jihadist terror group, Lakurawa, has emerged in the northwest, armed with advanced weaponry and a radical Islamist agenda, the WWL noted. Lakurawa is affiliated with the expansionist Al-Qaeda insurgency Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin, or JNIM, originating in Mali.

Nigeria ranked seventh on the 2025 WWL list of the 50 worst countries for Christians.

If you would like to help persecuted Christians, visit https://morningstarnews.org/resources/aid-agencies/ for a list of organizations that can orient you on how to get involved.

If you or your organization would like to help enable Morning Star News to continue raising awareness of persecuted Christians worldwide with original-content reporting, please consider collaborating at https://morningstarnews.org/donate/?

Photo: Coffins of 27 Christians slain in Bindi, Plateau state, Nigeria on July 15, 2025 on truck for procession. (Screenshot from TVC News report)
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© 2025 Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. Articles/photos may be reprinted with credit to Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. https://morningstarnews.org

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Morning Star News is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that relies solely on contributions to offer original news reports of persecuted Christians. By providing reliable news on the suffering church, Morning Star News’ mission is to empower those in the free world to help and to encourage persecuted Christians that they are not forgotten or alone. For free subscription, contact [email protected]; to make tax-deductible donations, visit https://morningstarnews.org/donate/? or send check to Morning Star News, 34281 Doheny Park Rd., # 7022, Capistrano Beach, CA 92624, USA.

25/07/2025

Order for Panel to Probe Blasphemy Law Abuse Suspended
Bench of high court issues stay under pressure from Islamists.

By Christian Daily International-Morning Star News
LAHORE, Pakistan, July 25, 2025 (Christian Daily International-Morning Star News) – Efforts to curb abuse of Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws suffered a major setback on Thursday (July 24) when judges suspended a prior court order to form a commission to investigate misuse of the harsh laws, sources said.

The division bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) comprising Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro and Justice Mohammad Azam Khan issued the stay order after hearing preliminary arguments on appeals filed by leaders of a “blasphemy business group” challenging the July 15 ruling of IHC Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan.

Attorney Kamran Murtaza, representing the “blasphemy business group,” reportedly argued that the petitioners were not granted a full right to a hearing and raised concerns over jurisdiction, noting that the matter involved around 400 cases, some beyond the IHC’s jurisdiction.

Murtaza, who is also a member of the Senate of Pakistan from the rightwing Islamist party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F), also questioned the legal authority of the court to form such a commission, arguing it rested solely with the federal government.

Following the initial hearing, the high court reserved judgment on the appeal but suspended the single bench’s order for 30 days.

The suspended single-bench order was part of a nine-page, detailed judgment by Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, following 42 hearings in 101 petitions filed by families of victims of the blasphemy business gang, seeking formation of an inquiry commission.

The court had directed the federal government to establish an inquiry commission within 30 days after startling revelations that individuals, including some Christians, were trapped through doctored digital content, coerced into confessions or falsely accused of blasphemy to extract money or settle personal scores.

Noting that nearly 400 First Information Reports (FIRs) and about 700 suspects were linked to online blasphemy cases, the judge underscored the need to investigate the alleged blasphemy business group and the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) failure to conduct proper forensic analysis and procedural irregularities, including private arrests, unverified digital evidence and the same Facebook IDs being reused in multiple FIRs.

The court had noted that some FIRs were registered and investigated on the same day, violating FIA’s own standard operation procedures. Most alarming were reports of four custodial deaths of blasphemy suspects, with one video showing signs of torture, and no judicial or administrative inquiry conducted in these cases.

Concluding that the issue was of “definite public interest,” the court had justified the formation of a commission as necessary to ensure transparency, accountability, and the protection of fundamental rights.

It directed the federal government to form a four-member commission comprising a retired judge, a senior FIA officer, a respected religious scholar, and a cybercrime expert. The commission was to submit a comprehensive report within four months, and all proceedings were to be broadcast live to ensure transparency.

Backlash from Islamists
Justice Ejaz Ishaq’s decision sparked immediate backlash.

Several hardline clerics and religious groups openly rejected the order to form a commission, labelling it “un-Islamic” and attempting to stir public sentiment against the judiciary.

Through sermons, social media campaigns and public statements, they urged their followers to challenge the court’s authority, portraying the initiative as an attack on Islamic values and warning the government against implementing the decision.

The pressure and legal appeals led to suspension of the ruling by the two-member division bench, which halted the commission’s formation pending further proceedings, said a Christian rights advocate.

“Hafiz Saad Rizvi, chief of the extremist religio-political party, Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), publicly criticized Justice Ejaz Ishaq’s ruling,” said the advocate, whose name is withheld for security reasons. “He also threatened the judiciary by making references of high-profile cases such as that of Mumtaz Qadri, the assassin of former Punjab Gov. Salmaan Taseer, to stir public sentiment and rally opposition against the formation of the judicial commission.”

The supreme leader of the JUI-F, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, and the Lahore High Court Bar Association also openly opposed the court’s decision and warned Justice Ejaz Ishaq Khan to withdraw the order, threatening severe consequences if he did not, the advocate said. Attorneys and activists supporting the victims’ families were also threatened with violence, he added.

“With the suspension of the commission order, the future course of the case is now uncertain,” he said. “However, the case has raised serious questions about the use of blasphemy laws, judicial authority and the role of religious influence in legal processes. We are now looking at the court and the government to see how they respond to the appeals.”

A Christian lawyer who has represented several victims of alleged blasphemy told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News that Justice Ejaz Ishaq’s order had offered a glimmer of institutional courage.

“The fact that some Muslim lawyers pursued this case despite grave personal risk – and that the judge himself chose to touch this volatile issue – speaks volumes about the kind of moral clarity that is too often missing from our justice system,” said the lawyer, whose name is withheld for security purposes. “Through the live proceedings, the people have seen firsthand how allegations of blasphemy are used as political and personal weapons and its consequences.”

The suspension of Khan’s order by a division bench of the same court, however, is as disturbing as it is dangerous, he said.

“The suspension of the order has sent a chilling message to victims, rights advocates and honest public servants that even in the face of overwhelming evidence and public interest, the system would rather look away than confront the issue,” he lamented.

The attorney emphasized that the justice system must not now allow its action or inaction to help shield those who exploit religious sentiments for power, profit or politics.

“Pakistan cannot afford yet another lost opportunity to safeguard its citizens from persecution,” he said. “Justice was finally being given a fighting chance, but suspending it now serves no one but the predators. The state must ask itself whose interests are being protected by halting a fact-finding mission into a matter of life and death? If we cannot investigate the truth, we cannot claim to uphold justice.”

Pakistan ranked eighth on Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List of the most difficult places to be a Christian.

If you would like to help persecuted Christians, visit https://morningstarnews.org/resources/aid-agencies/ for a list of organizations that can orient you on how to get involved.

If you or your organization would like to help enable Morning Star News to continue raising awareness of persecuted Christians worldwide with original-content reporting, please consider collaborating at https://morningstarnews.org/donate/?

Photo: Families of victims of false blasphemy cases protest outside National Press Club in Islamabad, Pakistan on Jan. 10, 2025. (CDI-MSN screenshot of video)
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© 2025 Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. Articles/photos may be reprinted with credit to Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. https://morningstarnews.org

Tweet: https://twitter.com/morningstarnewz/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MorningStarNews

Morning Star News is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that relies solely on contributions to offer original news reports of persecuted Christians. By providing reliable news on the suffering church, Morning Star News’ mission is to empower those in the free world to help and to encourage persecuted Christians that they are not forgotten or alone. For free subscription, contact [email protected]; to make tax-deductible donations, visit https://morningstarnews.org/donate/? or send check to Morning Star News, 34281 Doheny Park Rd., # 7022, Capistrano Beach, CA 92624, USA.

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