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Pakistan

Prayer Diary: Pakistan

31 Dec 2017

CSW has been working in Pakistan for over 20 years: long term advocacy, training and fact-finding that wouldn’t be possible without your faithful prayer and support. Life is increasingly difficult for Pakistan’s religious minorities, but thanks to the length of time we’ve been working there CSW is able to work quickly and effectively in response to emergencies and human rights abuses – and it all begins with your prayers!

  • Sunday 31 December

Please keep praying for Michelle Chaudhry, CSW’s long-standing partner in Pakistan. She runs the Cecil and Iris Chaudhry Foundation, which works alongside CSW and provides us with invaluable insight into the situation for religious minorities. Pray that God would keep Michelle in good health and provide strength, energy and endurance for her vital work. 

  • Monday 1 January

August 2016 saw a horrific suicide bomb attack on lawyers who had gathered to mourn the death of the president of the Balochistan Bar Association, who had been assassinated on his way into court earlier that day. This double attack, which claimed over 70 lives, left the legal community reeling. Pray for God’s protection over lawyers in Pakistan today. 

  • Tuesday 2 January

Please continue to pray for the blasphemy laws to be repealed. These vaguely worded laws don’t define blasphemy yet they make it a crime: the laws are often misused to settle personal scores, leading to innocent people being imprisoned. 

  • Wednesday 3 January

One long-running case that still needs your prayers is that of Asia Bibi, also known as Asia Noreen (pictured). She’s a Christian mother of five who was sentenced to death for blasphemy in 2009 and has been on death row ever since. Her final hearing was supposed to be in 2016, but the judge recused himself on the day due to a conflict of interest: she remains in prison. Pray that Asia’s case would be concluded soon and that she’d be allowed to go free. 

  • Thursday 4 January

Ahmadi Muslims are severely persecuted for their faith: legislation defining their faith as ‘anti-Islamic’ legitimises attacks against them. Pray for an increase in tolerance and peaceful co-existence between religious communities.

  • Friday 5 January

Kiran is just 15. She hasn’t seen her parents or her home in nearly two years, ever since she was abducted on her way to buy vegetables for dinner. Forced to convert to Islam, Kiran was married to a stranger and told she can never return home. She’s just one of hundreds of young Christian and Hindu girls every year who are kidnapped and forcibly converted: pray that they would be reunited with their families soon.

  • Saturday 6 January

Lord, watch over all those who defend freedom in Pakistan. Thank you that lawyers and human rights defenders work so hard to protect people: protect them in turn, and bless their work, we pray: so that one day, everyone in Pakistan will be able to worship freely and without fear. Amen.

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#2 CSW manifesto

We believe no one should suffer discrimination, harassment or persecution because of their beliefs