First Christian Kingdom in Punjab

Among its proudest displays, the Cathedral of Lahore exhibits a small cross in a glass case. Known as the Taxila Cross, it was found in 1935 just outside the ruins of Sirkap, the second city of Taxila, and is commonly believed to signify that Christianity had taken root in the subcontinent shortly after the crucifixion of Christ. The ‘proof’ supporting this theory is a manuscript titled The Acts of St Thomas that was discovered in 1822 in Syria. According to this document, St Thomas having been assigned by Jesus to teach the gospel in India (now it is the part of Pakistan), arrived by boat at the seaside capital of King Gondophares. Working miracles, he successfully converted the king and all his subjects to Christianity.

Now, whenever the Acts was compiled and even in 1822 when it surfaced in Syria, Taxila had not yet been discovered. Only serious historians well-acquainted with the history of Alexander knew that it lay somewhere to the east of the Indus River in Punjab. When the cross was discovered in 1935, Cuthbert King the British deputy commissioner of Rawalpindi (twin city of Islamabad, Pakistan), evidently knew of The Acts of St Thomas and seized upon this find as ‘proof’ of the existence of Christianity in Punjab as early as the 1st century CE. His belief was strengthened by the fact that newly-excavated Sirkap did indeed date back to t

he 1st century. Along with the cross, they also found some coins marked with the cross.

SP.Singha....HERO or TRAITOR?

Written by Hector Aleem:

During the British rule of India, British Government sent Sir. Stafford Cripps (head of Cripps Mission) to India with his delegation. In that plan India was offered with a plan of independence. Punjab Province was the biggest province of India, in the East of that Province Hindus and Sikhs were in majority so according to the plan that part was to be annexed with present day India. In the western part of Punjab, Muslims were in majority so that part was to be given to Pakistan. And from Lahore City to River Jehelum (present day Punjab, Pakistan) Christians were in majority, so according to the plan this part of Punjab province was to be given to Christians so that they can create their own separate Christian Country. Punjab Assembly at that time voted on the plan, some members of the assembly supported going with India and some members supported with going to Pakistan. There were also Christian members of Punjab Assembly and at that time the speaker of the Punjab assembly was also a Christian whose name was SP.Singha. SP.Singha supported Pakistan and he also made other Christian members of Punjab Assembly to vote for Pakistan. So the Christian part of Punjab was also annexed with Pakistan due to the votes of SP.Singha and his other fellow Christian members of assembly. At that time that was considered a vote for freedom but now after 67 years, Christians must decide....was it a vote for freedom or slavery? Implementing of Martial Law by dictator Ayub Khan 1958. Mrs.Singha left Pakistan and lived her life with her daughter in India. Please post your comments. 

Enough is Enough

STOP GENOCIDE OF CHRISTIANS IN PAKISTAN NOW

ADIALA PRISON PAKISTAN’S VERY OWN ABU GHARIB – GUANTANAMO

I am sharing some important facts of Adiala Prison which is the model jail of Pakistan and is famous for its civilized condition, if this is the condition of civilized prison than you can imagine the condition of other prisons of Pakistan. This is only what I have seen during four years of my illegal detention for false accusations, what happened to me will be written in my next article.

Superintendent and deputy superintendent of Jail gathered all the Christian prisoners and in no uncertain terms ordered them to refrain from any religious activities including prayer sessions. The Christian prisoners, some of them having under graduate - post graduate academic qualifications were assigned janitorial duties simply because they were Christians. Those resisting such orders were warned of harsh punishment in the form of routine beating, torture and other inhumane acts if they did not toe the line. Those Christian prisoners that disobey such orders are beaten till they succumb to their injuries, The Above mentioned officials of Adiala Jail conveniently labeling such death in custody as ‘Suicides’. In the absence of post mortem, how can it be determined whether the prisoner died a natural or injury inflicted death. Simply they ordered Christians to perform the dirty duty like toilet washing and gutter cleaning due to their faith.

Other Christian prisoners who are in fear cooperate with these officials by doing janitorial duties are not provided adequate safety equipment. The concept of gloves and proper footwear is alien to our comprehension. Such prisoners develop various skin related diseases eventually succumbing to their injuries without any compensation from the authorities.

The penal system was introduced by the civilized world to rehabilitate those who committed crimes. Prisons serve as a useful deterrent to crime as well as confining hardened criminals for extended periods of time thereby ensuring non repetition of crimes as well as ensuring the safety of law abiding citizens.

Undoubtedly criminals who do the crime must do the time; it is the period of detention as well as the quality of life of prisoners that differs worldwide. In developed nations, prisons are well managed by professionals who respect the fundamental rights of each prisoner. Prisoners are human being and have to be properly cared for during the entire period of their incarceration. First and foremost it is vital that prisoners are adequately fed and clothed. Religious freedom and visitation rights must be respected. If prisoners show keen interest in pursuing further education, the authorities must oblige. A reformed prisoner will be better able to re-adjust into society after serving his time. In developing countries however, prisons are misused for a variety of purposes. Innocent people are falsely accused by politicians, bureaucrats and law enforcement agencies of crimes they did not commit. It is such gross human rights violations that we like to highlight. The prison in question this time is not Abu Gharib or Guantanamo but our own Adiala Prison.

Adiala prison is located in Rawalpindi. It was originally designed to house inmates but now has more than five times that number. Cramped quarters, unhygienic living conditions, unpalatable food, inadequate healthcare facilities, absence of educational inducement, denial of religious freedom, routine torture, regular gang rape and sodomy both by wardens and hardened criminals, denial of visitation rights, confiscation of gifts and food from well-wishers are

Adiala has seen many wardens over the decades. Interestingly enough each new warden brazenly flouts the law more than his predecessor. Either the government has a special training camp where senior law enforcement officials receive training on how to excel in human rights violations or these wardens are chosen from a huge list of renowned sadists. According to my experience, even President and Prime Minister of Pakistan ignore any complaints against atrocious conditions in Adiala and prefer to ignore any plea. It seems the more complains direr the situation gets. Perhaps it’s the governments’ way of reminding that they are not prepared to except any criticism of their head handed tactics.     

Christian prisoners who dare to air their grievances to the concerned authorities or for that matter human rights organizations or NGO’s face severe punishment from wardens who simply cannot tolerate whistle blowers. Just who do these prisoners turn to, to redress their grievances? Knowing the docile characteristics of Christians, wardens deliberately inflict more inhumane punishment on Christians simply to satisfy their ego as well as earn promotion for a job well done.

The Pakistan government and Pakistani electronic and print media is quick to point out the harsh treatment to prisoners in far away places like Abu Gharib or Guantanamo but prefer to close both eyes at the atrocities that occur in prisons within their own domain. The government fails to take into account that prisoners serving time in Abu Gharib or Guantanamo are war criminals or terrorists who have committed crimes against humanity and are meted out exemplary punishment, but the Christian prisoners here in Pakistan are neither terrorist nor war criminals and have never committed crimes against humanity in the name of religion or for that matter any other warped ideology. Christian prisoners are largely in prisons for minor crimes. Moreover these Christian prisoners are Pakistani citizens and deserve equal treatment as enshrined in the Constitution.

Access to prisoners to conduct proper investigation into their allegations is rare to say the least. The prison authorities will prevent outsiders from mingling with prisoners, least their deceptive and atrocious behavior will surface. Peace Worldwide want an immediate reinstatement of religious worship and regular prayer for Christians. Moreover all janitorial duties must be equally shared by all prisoners irrespective of their religious background. After all Muslim prisoners (who are in larger numbers in Adiala prison) are equally responsible for creating an unhygienic environment, so they are just as responsible for the clean up process.

Also, an access to hospital should be given to all those Christian prisoners who have suffered injuries due to the barbaric acts of prison authorities. We would also like to see all Christian prisoners provided proper healthcare facilities and are not subjected to further physical torture. An independent body should be created to oversee any human rights violations that occur in prisons all over Pakistan. Prison Wardens and other officials must either be suspended or removed from service when they are found guilty of human rights violations. These same officials must serve time in the very prison they committed these violations. International organisations should be allowed to meet regularly with all prisoners especially Christian prisoners, to better understand first-hand the situation that currently exists in Adiala Prison.  Though it is difficult for them to let these organisations visit and point out the human rights violation in the prison but if somehow any international organisation visits, they make them visit the dummy places which are free of violation and any inhumane activity and give them EVERYTHING IS OKAY report.

Enough is enough. Christians are fed up with the discriminatory, despicable and unwarranted behavior of the Pakistani government, the law enforcement agencies as well as the Muslim masses of Pakistan. Up until now Christians have been quiet on all fronts preferring to maintain the status quo but such inaction has further deteriorated the basic rights of all Christians in Pakistan.

Pakistan now enjoys a front seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council. Exposing their dirty laundry on the international forum will certainly infuriate their politicians and will only further confirm Pakistan status as a nation of ‘Hypocrites’. We warn government of Pakistan to correct them and follow the right path and do what is written in the jail manual and what they show to the international organisations.

Is Pakistan prepared to live with such demeaning expletive? Will ‘Enlightened Moderation’ be further strengthened or weakened by continuous human rights violations that occur regularly in Pakistan. The time has come for the Pakistani Government as well as the people of Pakistan to embrace ‘One Nation – One People’ culture which is far more difficult for both the government of Pakistan, ISI and other agencies to digest. Christians will not any longer tolerate erosion in their birth rights and demand equal status as Citizens of Pakistan. Peace Worldwide want religious freedom for Christians of Pakistan and the right to practice their religion without continuous interference from Islamists and Government of Pakistan. We also want appropriate punishment for Muslims for similar crimes that Christians unnecessarily are incarcerated for. The socio-economic picture should register an overall improvement benefiting all Pakistani citizens, not just Muslims.

We strongly urge the Government of Pakistan as well as International Human Rights organizations to help improve Pakistan’s poor human rights record. Religious extremism and racial vilification must be uprooted immediately. Senior government officials must refrain from personal prejudices while discharging their duties. Pakistan has very bad reputation. Christians would like to cooperate with the government and the people in improving the socio-economic situation, but more effort from government of Pakistan is required to achieve this objective.

Hector Aleem

Chairman

Peace Worldwide

How long Christians can live with the Majority of Pakistan?

SAHIWAL, Aug 3: Almost half of Christian population living in 38/12-L village near Chichawatni left their houses and moved to safer places on Saturday morning after a tension between Muslim and Christian communities increased over a minor issue.

Removal of a green cloth inscribed with holy verses from a grave in a Muslim graveyard and its use on a grave in a Christian graveyard resulted in the tension between two communities. Some people tried to incite communal violence on the basis of this issue, but elders from both communities intervened and averted a clash.

Pakistani newspapers are saying that the situation was under control and negotiations among elders of all religious communities of the village on Saturday evening were successful. But the real news is far more dangerous and alarming.

According to the sources of Peace Worldwide, the situation is still very dangerous in the village 38/12-L. The extremists destroyed all graves in the Christian graveyard; some dead bodies were dug out from the graves and were burned and disgraced by the extremists. Some other extremists also destroyed Holy Cross on the graves.

Later the extremists turned to the village and destroyed Christian homes and household items. Holy Bibles were also burnt by the extremists; a local Church was also burnt. Christians from the village fled from their homes and are living with their relatives in other villages. Some are even living in open air ground; they don’t have any kind of shelter in this hot weather.

Pakistani media which is already a strong supporter of Taliban and extremists is instructed by the Government of Pakistan not to cover any news of Christians. They are concealing the news of Christians in Pakistan by showing that everything is good and that the Christians are enjoying equal rights but the other side of the story is darker than anyone can imagine.

Pakistani media claims that the dialogue between elders of Christians and Muslims was successful. The question is, Dialogue between whom? When there is no one left in that village. We already said before and are saying again, this situation is going towards “The Two Nation Theory”. For how long Christians can live with the Majority of Pakistan?

Organized genocide of Christians in Pakistan

Pakistani print and electronic media fully support talibans and extremism in Pakistan. Especially Christian faith is being destroyed and disgraced by the print and electronic media of Pakistan. Pakistani secret agencies especially police support the fundamentalists and extremists and those who do not support them are afraid of them. There are many incidents like the Badami Bagh, Gojra, Shantinagar etc in which Police were involved with the extremists. Police did not arrest any fundamentalist who destroyed the Christian neighborhoods but on the other hand the same Police blindly file blasphemy cases against Christians without any evidence. This is an organized genocide of Christians in Pakistan.

Christian Genocide in Pakistan

Christianity is the largest minority in Pakistan but besides being the largest number of minority, they are also the largest number of persecuted nation in Pakistan. There are lots of examples of Christian persecution since the inception of Pakistan. Today, Pakistani Christians are regularly jailed, persecuted and even sentenced in false blasphemy cases. Pakistani fundamentalists are cutting the necks of Christians like street dogs, raping and abduct Christian girls. Shame on recent parliamentarians like Tahir Khalil Sandhoo and Kamran Michael who are enjoying the ministry with the ruling government, if they care even a little about their nation they should resign immediately and start working for Christians.

The recent case of Shafqat Masih is the worst example of blasphemy cases lodged against Christians because his whole family is in custody of the police and they have been shifted far away from their home city. This is the same case in which Peace Worldwide Chairman, Mr. Hector Aleem was trapped and he spent four years in prison for this offence. No Christian is such fool to send a blasphemous message to any Muslim cleric especially when they know the consequences, also, every Christian parent teaches their children not to involve their selves in any anti Islamic activity.

There are no organizations especially Christian NGOs who are helping these victims of blasphemy instead they depends upon the local NGOs who do nothing but provides false news to the international media, normally all these organizations are the agents of the government of Pakistan who provides news according to the guidance of the Government of Pakistan.

Peace Worldwide condemns the misuse of blasphemy law in Pakistan because it is creating hate and inferiority complex in the minds of Pakistani Christians, the government, the secret agencies and courts are silent when several innocent Christians are facing persecution due to blasphemy law.

Pakistan should stop genocide of Christians of Pakistan. Or else a time will come when Christians of Pakistan will consider Pakistan their enemy and will rebel against it because same concept of two nation theory applies here.

Blasphemy Accused Christian Couple in Pakistan Detained With Their Four Children

According to details, Shafqat Masih 43 years old, and his wife Shaguftah, 40 years old, have also been accused of texting blasphemous messages to Muslim clerics.
 

Plaintiff Muhammad Hussain says,” I was offering “Taraweeh” prayers offered in Ramadan after the breaking of the fast on 18th of July, 2013 in Talabwali mosque at around 10pm when my cell phone vibrated.” He states that,” after finishing prayer, I checked my cell phone and found blasphemous text messages insulting both Prophet Muhammad and the Qur’an.”

While talking about this case, Gojra City Police Station House Officer Muhammad Nisar told that,” Hussain’s call data revealed the messages were sent from Shaguftah’s cell phone number.”

Nonetheless, the Gojra City Police have booked the couple, together with their four children, pressurizing them to name someone who could have sent the messages.

The Police official Nisar further told that,” a large number of Islamic clerics had been enraged when they heard of these text messages, and that they remained in the police station until the First Investigative Report (FIR) was lodged.” Subsequently, the police detained the accused couple on 20th of July, 2013 and transferred them to Toba Tek Singh District jail the following day.

“Shafqat has admitted to the police he sent the blasphemous messages and gave this statement to the judicial magistrate,” Muhammad Nisar said. On the other hand, Riaz Anjum, the Defence Counsel of the couple asserts that,” the police have extracted a confession from Shafqat, which is illegal.”

Riaz Anjum further criticizes the police saying in order to establish a strong case against the couple they have recorded Shafqat Masih’s judicial confession. “Investigation should have been done by the senior superintendent before lodging the case, but here the police have extracted a confession from Shafqat which is illegal,” he said. Additionally, the police have also charged the couple under 25-D of The Telegraph Act of 1985 which proposes a maximum of three years of imprisonment for deliberately “causing annoyance” in addition to 295-B and C.