Release International

Pastor and two children kidnapped in separate incidents A Christian pastor has been kidnapped in Pakistan - in a move to put pressure on the United States to pull out its troops from the country. The kidnappers warn that unless the US gets out of Pakistan, they will kill Christians.

The threat awakens fears of a return to church bombings and gun attacks against churches by extremists opposed to the US-led war against terrorism.

And in a separate incident two children have been kidnapped. The British human rights organisation Release International says the abductions highlight the worsening persecution against Christians in Pakistan.

Padre Yousaf Masih, minister of the Baptist Church in Jacobabad, was abducted from his home by militants. His captors tortured him and told him to take a message to the Americans: get out of Pakistan or we kill Christians.

The US has been using Shahbaz Air Base in Jacobabad to provide logistical support for its anti-Taliban operations in Afghanistan. The airbase has been the scene of violent protests by anti-US militants.

The abductors told Padre Yousaf to tell America that if the troops remain, the militants will resume killing Christians in Pakistan, who they consider to be allies of the West.

Since the war on terror began, churches have been bombed and Christians gunned down at worship. In January militants exploded a car bomb outside a church in Karachi. Up to 40 are said to have been killed in attacks on Christian targets in 2002.

The abductors also accused the church leader of spying for India. Many Hindus respect Padre Yousaf as a man of God and come to his home for prayer. Militants have been harassing the Padre for several months, and attempting to prevent him performing his duties as a Christian pastor.

The 33-year old minister has a wife and two children, aged nine and four. He believes he is still being watched by the militants and his family is under threat.

'Pakistan is rapidly becoming a dangerous place for Christians,' says Eddie Lyle, the Executive Director of Release International. 'Militants are mistaken in believing they can wage war against America by slaughtering Christians. Kidnappings and threats of further bloodshed highlight the ongoing persecution of the Christian religious minority in Pakistan.'

Photo: Maria and her children, before the abduction

In a separate incident, two children - aged five and three - were abducted from a courtroom in Lahore. Their mother, Maria Samar John, is herself also a kidnap victim.

In 1997 Maria, who is a Christian, was abducted by her maternal uncle who sold her to be married to a Muslim. Her husband, Abdul Ghaffar, forced her to live as a prisoner in his house for more than two years.

She bore a son, Joshua, and was pregnant for the second time when she managed to escape. Since then, Maria has been living in a safe house, run by a partner of the human rights organisation, Release International.

The Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS) campaigned successfully to dissolve her forced marriage and has launched a legal battle for the custody of her children, Joshua (5), and Miriam, who is now aged three.

Maria was in court to plead for the custody of her children when her estranged husband snatched them. The Lahore Family Court allowed Abdul Ghaffar to meet his children in the court house at each session of the hearing.

'Please pray that God will keep both the children in his safe custody and that CLAAS will be able to recover the children as quickly as possible,' says Joseph Francis of CLAAS.

CLAAS's British partner, Release International, has just launched the Remember campaign, to call for Christians to pray for their persecuted brothers and sisters in Pakistan and to press for the repeal of the notorious blasphemy laws.

'The threat in Pakistan is not just from extremists,' says Eddie Lyle of RI. 'This is a nation where the notorious blasphemy laws are used to settle scores and Christians are regarded as second-class citizens with few legal rights. The laws of the land must be changed.'

Release International and CLAAS are pressing for the repeal of all laws that discriminate against Christians.

To join the campaign for change Christians are being asked to download a petition from Release International's website www.releaseinternational.org/remember , gather as many signatures as possible, and return them before October 30. RI will present the petitions to the Pakistan Embassy in London.

Christians are also being encouraged to write to the President of Pakistan urging him to abolish the blasphemy laws, and to set up a 'Persecution Zone' on their church notice boards for prayer requests and news about persecuted Christians. All the necessary resources are available on the RI website.

Release International serves persecuted Christians in 30 nations around the world, by supporting pastors and their families who are being victimised, supplying Christian literature and Bibles and working for justice.

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