Urgent prayer request from partners in Pakistan

Update - Wednesday 23rd April

Sheila Norris, our Partnership Coordinator for Asia and the Pacific has received the following urgent update for prayer from CLAAS (Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement), a partner organisation in Pakistan.

We are writing to inform you that today, Friday, April 18, the Anti-Terrorism Court awarded a death sentence to Pervaiz Kodu in the Jaranwala blasphemy case 1258/23. The other two accused, Shahid Afta and Dawood Masih, are acquitted.

In his 49-page order, the Judge admitted that although there was no witness to this incident, the corroborative written evidence was enough to convict the accused. The judgment further reads that four Christians have already been released in this case, and a further two are acquitted; this blasphemous attempt triggered a mass act of violence and created a rift between the Christian and Muslim communities, and this act needs to be punished. According to the defense lawyer, the Jaranwala Lawyers bar president was present and told the CLAAS lawyer that he would file a petition against the acquittal of Shahid Aftab and Dawood Masih, who were accused of providing Pervaiz Kudo with the material, including the Holy Quran, for this act.

CLAAS lawyer will file an appeal on behalf of Pervaiz Masih Kudo in the Lahore High Court tomorrow morning, 19th April 2025.

Please keep Pervaiz Kodu, CLAAS and the ongoing court case in your prayers.

Today (11th April 2025) we received the following letter from CLAAS (Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement), a partner organisation in Pakistan. They ask us to join them in urgent prayer.

Dear Friends and Partners,

We are writing to request a special prayer for CLAAS senior lawyer Mr Tahir Bashir as he proceeds to Jaranwala on Saturday, April 12, 2025, to conduct the final court hearing of the blasphemy case # 1258/23 under sections 295A, 295B, and 295C of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Seven Christians were arrested under this FIR (first information report) 1258/23. Through CLAAS efforts, four accused have been acquitted, and the three remaining are facing trial.

CLAAS is providing legal defense to one of those arrested. Last year, the defendant wrote a letter from his prison cell to CLAAS, pleading with them to provide him with legal aid. According to him, the Punjab police made him the sacrificial goat and maliciously pinned this case on him. It is worth noting that the State is the complainant in this case.

According to CLAAS paralegal staff attending the court hearings, the courtroom is always jam-packed with supporters and followers of radical religious groups, making the court environment very intense, and the CLAAS lawyer and his clients were verbally threatened by the supporters of this radical group on several occasions.

Furthermore, please note that Mr. Tahir Bashir survived an assassination attempt on March 23, 2025, when he was travelling to Jaranwala to recover a young Christian woman who was abducted and forced into conversion. As soon as their car got onto the road going to Jaranwala, three men on motorcycles chased their car, firing gunshots at their vehicle. An FIR has been lodged against unknown persons.

In Pakistan, where Christianity is a minority faith, organisations like CLAAS (Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement) play a vital role in defending the rights of those facing religious intolerance. The country's blasphemy laws often place religious minorities in precarious situations, leading to legal cases that require courage and resilience. Those defending the cases can also find themselves in danger.