Pakistan: Christian Homes Firebombed By Muslims Over Voting In General Election
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – Christians in Punjab Province, Pakistan, last Monday had fire bombs thrown and gunshots fired at their homes by Muslim extremists enraged that they had voted for an opposing political party in the Feb. 8 general election, Morning Star News (MSN) reports.
Persecution against Pakistani Christians in Punjab Province has intensified considerably. The Open Doors international Christian advocacy organization notes: “Since by far the most Christians live in Punjab Province, many incidents of persecution, discrimination and intolerance occur there.”
Although no one was hurt in Monday’s attack on Chak 6/11-L village in Sahiwal District, the homes of Christians were targeted by a mob of some 20 Muslim men at 2.30 am while the occupants were sleeping, MSN reports.
“They threw petrol bombs at our homes and fired gunshots on the gates, damaging property worth hundreds of thousands of Pakistani rupees,” Christian resident Arshad Masih told MSN. “Fortunately, no one was killed or injured in the attack.”
According to Bishop Abraham Daniel of the local Sahiwal Baptist Church, the Muslims were angered even before the election over the building of a church in the area. However, Daniel said: “This incident occurred due to the Christians’ support for the candidate of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). The assailants are affiliated with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), whose candidate won the election from that constituency.”
Pakistan ranks 7th on the US Open Doors World Watch List 2024 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted. At the same time, it is noteworthy that there have been two very recent essential decisions made by the authorities that favor beleaguered Pakistani Christians. Firstly, the historically and currently harsh Islamic government recently decided that Christian children should not be forced to study Islam but can study the Bible and the life of Jesus instead.
Secondly, the Pakistani Supreme Court delivered a scathing rebuke to Punjab Province authorities for their slackness in prosecuting the hundreds of Muslim rioters who attacked Christian homes and churches in Jaranwala last year. The high court ordered a fresh investigation in which police must find and charge the perpetrators or face suspension.
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