Release International

Two Christian families in Pakistan are devastated after their young daughters were raped.

In Kotri village, Sindh province, a brutal assault on a six-year-old girl has left her in intensive care. And in Mohalla Raja Sultan, Rawalpindi, a 14-year-old is recovering from being kidnapped, drugged and raped by five men.

The attackers of the 14-year-old threatened to kill her unless her father allowed her to convert to Islam and marry one of her rapists. The child was freed on June 6 – eight days after she was abducted – during a police raid near Islamabad. Her attackers told her father they believed they would have '70 virgins in heaven' if they raped or married a non-Muslim girl. He has since reported the incident to the police.

In the case of the six-year-old child, however, her relatives' initial attempts to persuade police to investigate only prolonged their torment. A Release source said police arrested the girl's 'close relatives' instead and tortured them to try to extract a confession from them. They were freed only when local media showed an interest in the case.

The same Release source says the six-year-old girl is in a stable condition but is 'extremely traumatised'. It has been reported that she is not receiving 'proper medical care'.

(Sources: Compass Direct, Release International)

* Ask God to heal and restore these two girls and their families.
* Pray for justice for these two girls – and for the many Christian women and girls in Pakistan whose basic human and religious rights are trampled upon.

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