Sam’s Reports on Devastating Effects on His Family Still In Pakistan

Part 1 (Update of 2023 08 18)

On developments following International Quran book burnings in Scandinavia, primarily.

Hi Ron, good morning, hope you’re doing well.

I wanted to inform you that two days before on the 16th, an Islamic extremist group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (Army of Jhangvi), attacked Christians in Faisalabad, province of Punjab, Pakistan. They burned twenty-one churches on that day, while seven Churches were burnt yesterday in other provinces of Punjab. Yesterday, I collected some video clips of this attack from different channels and made a video that I posted on YouTube today. I’m sharing the link to it:

Christians at Risk – Jaranwala, Faisalabad – 16082023

View

The Crisis Hits Sam’s Family in Karachi…

Sam writes:

And yesterday, on the 17th, my brother, Abner, got beaten up by some Islamic extremists when he went to open the shop. My father, on a phone call, said that as usual, he went to the shop to get it prepared for the day, and before my father arrived. He said there were six guys from Jamaat-e-Islam (army of Islam) who went there and started threatening him. One of them placed his foot and pressed on Abner’s hand when he was unlocking the shutter. They were stopping him from opening the shop. He said it all started after yesterday’s massive attack.

Now they made an argument – that Christians are not allowed to do business and live in their country anymore.

Abner rests because he got some injuries when they were beating. They took a photo of Abner’s ID card. Yesterday, they were busy moving house – bringing their clothes and other stuff to my aunt’s (mother’s sister) house in another area of Karachi which is an hour away from our home there.

This evening, I will talk with Abner about this personally. I’ll keep you posted. Thank you

Part 2 (Update of 2023 08 19)

This morning, Saturday Aug 19, I sent a Facebook message to Sam, as follows:

Sam… Any further word from your family on the crisis there?

Here is his detailed response on the confrontation with his brother.

Hi Ron, good morning, yes…

Abner was fortunate enough that he is alive. Last night I wasn’t able to talk with him but this morning, I was preparing the church for today’s worship when he called.

Abner said to me, you know that as a religious minority, we live in peace. We can’t imagine violating sensitive laws. He said, six men suddenly appeared from behind when I bent down to unlock the shop’s shutter. One man grabbed my collar from the back, pressed my hand under his foot, and said – you are no longer allowed to open the shop, nor live in our country. Abner said to him, this is my shop and I open it daily. Who would be supposed to open it, if I don’t? The same man holding Abner’s collar slapped Abner’s head. He said, no questions! Then he grabbed his pistol from his pack, pointed at Abner, and said once again – No Christians are allowed to do business, nor live in our country.

Abner said:

I pulled my hand from under the man’s foot while trying to stand simultaneously. I placed the keys back in my pocket and said to him, “Okay, I’m leaving”. The man left Abner’s collar and said to Abner, where hmm… [m…rf…r]! Give me your keys and ID. Abner said I gave the keys without saying anything. Because another guy who also had a pistol, collected the shop keys and asked me to hold the id card. He put the keys in his pocket and took his phone to click photos. He took one with my id and the other with me in it holding my id. Then he put the phone in his pocket as well and suddenly punched my face, it hits on my right eyebrow. Another man from the left punched me on my upper lips.

The punches were tough, for a few seconds it was like – I went into a coma. When I got stable, I saw they were all punching me like a punching bag. The good thing was that I stood, they couldn’t fall me on the ground. Then I just joined my hand, keeping my head down, saying sorry again and again, and started walking to the road where my motorbike was parked. They continued to follow me and kicked me several times on my back. And saying things like chanting, get out of here, [m…rf…r]. One man was saying, “Christianity has challenged the honor of Muslims by desecrating the Quran in Sweden. If a Christian desecrates the Quran in another country, the Jamaat-e-Islami, who walk the path of martyrdom, will make Pakistan a hell for Christianity”.

Abner said when he reached near to his motorbike, one man was saying, “We know where you live, we know your father and mother. We have your phone numbers. Note we will circulate your id and photo to our people to put you on our hit list. Once again if you appear in front of our men, you’ll be dead”. Abner said, hurriedly I started my motorcycle and left that place. Then after a few minutes of driving, I saw a place to stop, called the dad, and informed him about this all.

I know the mentality of these people. Recently, a Sunni Tehreek Imam has stated that neither the Church nor Christians will now remain safe in Pakistan. Inshallah [if Allah wills] Sunni youths will put their lives on the line and take revenge for the desecration of the Quran by waging suicide attacks on Christians of Pakistan. It’s a pity that jihadi organizations have limited [themselves] to condemning instead of killing the Christians desecrating the Quran. The LeJ now requests emirs [Arab rulers] of all organizations to direct their suicide daredevils towards Christianity.

From our vantage point of Christian life in Canada, this is very difficult to comprehend. These are our brothers and sisters in Christ. How, indeed, can we help?