Christians in Pakistan live in fear retaliatory attacks from the Muslim extremists enraged by the blasphemy accusations.

(ISLAMABAD) - Asia Bibi was due to appear in Lahore High Court - LHC on March 17, 2014, and went to Lahore for the case hearing. LHC deferred her case again, but there I came to know that farm laborers were attacked in District Kasur near Lahore. Sadiq Masih (the father) was brutally injured, while his wife (Parveen Bibi) and his son Zulifqar both died on the spot.

I went there with Sohail Johnson, chief of Sharing Life Ministry – SLMP and came to know that on March 16, 2014, Baber Baig along his companion entered the victims’ house forcibly. They broke into the house and opened fire on Zulifqar and Parveen Bibi who died instantly while Sadiq was injured. The survivors include Nargis, Ulfit, Waqar and Patris out of seven members of the family.

Sadiq and his wife, Parveen, reportedly were pursuing the case of his son Youhana, who was murdered on February 19, 2013, (First Incident Report 6-7-13) by the accused and were cautioned not to pursue the case. As soon as the accused were released on bail, they forced the complainant to stop pursuing the case against them. But they didn’t and they were killed in revenge. The accused have criminal records and are under investigation for other crimes.

The SLMP team went there to take care of the matter. SLMP provided legal assistance and medical care to the injured member of the family. The injured, Sadiq Maish, (head of the family) was admitted to the hospital for his medical treatment. Sohail Johnson said that it is common practice, especially in rural areas, that majority Muslim landlords think of Christians as a commodity not human beings. They believe that Christians should follow their orders as they are slaves. We are working to change the mindset of the feudal system, he added.

Christians in Pakistan live in fear retaliatory attacks from the Muslim extremists enraged by the blasphemy accusations. Christians are being targeted because of ethnic prejudice.

About Shamim Masih

"I am a Christian rights activist and freelancer Pakistani journalist specializing in writing about Christians rights for the different papers in the world. My aim is to create a peaceful environment in the society and to help eliminate Christian persecution through my writing as I bring the plight of these brave people under the spotlight of the whole world."

Shamim Masih was born in Sheikhopura's village and raised in Gujranwala, a city in Pakistan's Punjab province. He earned his Bachelors Degree from the University of the Punjab, Lahore majoring in English, Economics and Statistics; he also received a Masters Degree in Business Administration

As a freelance writer and author, Shamim has written for different papers in the world; his expertise is in writing articles highlighting different social issues. He has served as freelance chief reporter and column writer in “Minority Times” in Islamabad, and a number of Shamim's articles have been published in local papers as well.

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Anonymous March 25, 2014 11:41 am (Pacific time)

Tim King you claim 1.5 million Iraqi civilians were killed by us and other intervening powers...so what is your source? There are some organizations out there that are known for inflating numbers that simply are obvious to clear thinking and informed people. Media from around the world simply ignore your number, as do all Iraqi officials. Have you ever seen any battle deaths outside of a Hollywood movie? Any large death counts in the hundreds? My informed guess is that you really have not seen fields covered with bodies, live. So maybe you should examine why your agenda is not very important to anyone outside of Timme-world.

Well you are wrong, I have covered both the Iraq and Afghan wars, sorry. I am a living witness and my war reports are widely circulated and easily verified.

As for sources:

http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/iraq

Major studies of war mortality

Three major studies of war mortality have been done in Iraq. Two appeared in The Lancet, the British medical journal, and one appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine. They bear strong similarities in their findings, but have some important differences, too.

The first household survey that appeared was published in The Lancet in October 2004, measuring the war-related mortality in the war's first 18 months. The researchers--mainly epidemiologists from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and medical personnel in Iraq--estimated 98,000 "excess deaths" due to war. Read

The second household survey, conducted by the Hopkins scientists again, was completed in June 2006 and published four months later in The Lancet. Its findings: 650,000 people (civilians and fighters) died as a result of the war in Iraq. Read

Another household survey, this one conducted by the Iraq Ministry of Health at the same time as the second Hopkins study, found 400,000 excess deaths, 151,000 by violence. As is the case with most such surveys conducted during time of war, there were problems in data gathering and the analysis tended to minimize violent death estimates. But the survey generally confirmed the very high mortality reported in The Lancet. Read

It should be noted that both the second Lancet article and the New England Journal of Medicine article were based on studies that were completed at the height of war-related violence in Iraq. Large-scale fighting continued for another year and slowly subsided for a year after that to lower but continuing levels. So their estimates are a fraction of the total caused by the war.

In 2008, the peer-reviewed journal, Conflict and Health, published "Iraq War Mortality Estimates: A Systematic Review," and found that the household survey method was superior to other forms of counting.

- MIT

At the end of the day you may be right about the 1.5 million, in reality the death toll of the illegal US war machine is probably far higher. Don't worry though, you can discuss your points with St. Peter as he pitches your ass into the fires, have a great time.

Cw March 24, 2014 5:41 pm (Pacific time)

THOUSANDS OF KURDS WERE KILLED BY WMD'S. DID SADDAM SEND HIS STOCK TO SYRIA? IT IS 100% THAT HE DID. IRAQI IMMIGRANTS TO AMERICA AND UK SURE PRAISE OUR LIFESAVING INTERVENTION.NOW WITH THE OBAMA POLICIES MILLIONS WILL SOON DIE THROUGHOUT LANDS WE PROVIDED HELP.

Quinton March 24, 2014 9:36 am (Pacific time)

Many Muslims behave like they’re Satan’s little agents on rock3, bombing and threatening and beheading and butchering Christians, Jews, Hindus, and just about everybody they can, while subjugating women and children very badly. That’s a simple reality anybody who sees the news knows to be true. If thinking of them as primitive or uncivilized is suddenly “ prejudiced” then so be it. I and all informed/loving Christians are proud to be “prejudiced.” We will stay “ prejudiced” until the last Muslim lays down his bombs and butcher knives and starts living like decent — and yes civilized — human beings. Pray for Christians and Christian missionaries in Muslim lands. May they survive. And may they succeed in bringing knowledge of the one true God to Lucifer’s Legions. These radicals are running out of time as our patience is nearly gone.

God does not want you to only pray for Christians, the people who murdered 1.5 million in Iraq on bad info over WMD's. God wants us to pray for all of his children, particularly the most misguided. This madness you reference is a result of things that have taken place, when people are attacked and subjugated long enough, they lose their common sense and religion is the last thing people can really cling to. Please also try to understand why the US and UK are funding the most radical Muslims on the face of the earth to destabilize secular countries like Libya and Syria? You need to look at the bigger picture friend.

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