Jailed Pakistani Christian Released on Bail

By Jeremy Reynalds
Special Correspondent for ASSIST News Service

PAKISTAN (ANS) -- A Christian believer who ran afoul of Pakistan’s strict blasphemy law has just been released on a bond of $4200.

Yousaf Masih, 60, was arrested on June 28 from the Lalkurti area in Nowshera following an allegation that he had deliberately burnt pages of the Koran.

After Masih’s arrest, a news release from the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA) stated that he was brutally tortured in a police station and later moved to the Central Jail in Peshawar, where he was kept in a special cell. There was serious concern beginning to emerge about Masih’s health.

Masih was released from jail on Aug. 6, when APMA members and lawyers presented the release warrant to the jail superintendent.

The news release from APMA stated that when Masih was informed about his impending freedom, “he fell down on his knees and loudly said, ‘Hallelujah.’He then stood up and hugged us. We took him from Central Jail in Peshawar to a location where his family was waiting for him.”

Speaking in the news release, an APMA official called Masih’s release on bail “a great miracle.”

He added, “It is for the first time in Pakistan that (someone accused of blasphemy) is released from jail on bail in a very short span ... Such type of blasphemy cases take years for any kind of outcome. The judges are reluctant to hear such cases due to threats. Many Christian have been killed extra judicially, and many victim of blasphemy law are in jails, living in the situation of life and death and waiting for trial.”

APMA Chairman Shahbaz Bhatti said in the news release, “APMA is thankful to all those who prayed for Yousaf Masih to be released. Although Yousaf Masih is out of prison ... he and his family (are) still under life threats. Kindly continue to pray for Yousaf Masih, his family and APMA members and lawyers, who will continue to pursue this case till the charges of blasphemy against Yousaf are dropped.”

Following Masih’s initial arrest, according to APMA, a group of Muslims became angry and violent after hearing about the incident. They attacked a Hindu Temple and houses lived in by Christians in Nowshera.

APMA reported that most of the Christians living in Nowshera left the area to save their lives, and the remaining Christians were harassed, intimidated and terrorized. The Islamic extremist organizations demanded that Masih be hanged publicly.

APMA noted in the news release that Nowshera City is a hub of Islamic madrassas ( http://histclo.com/chron/me/islam/mad/mad-mod.html - http://histclo.com/chron/me/islam/mad/mad-mod.html ),  which produced Taliban members. In addition, a few key leaders of MMA (Muttahida Majlis –e-Amal) are also living there ( http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/pakistan/mma.ht m - www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/pakistan/mma.htm ). 

According to the World Evangelical Alliance ( http://www.worldevangelical.org/persecute/persec_pakistan_ii _28oct03.html - www.worldevangelical.org/persecute/persec_pakistan_ii_28oct0 3.html ),  “APMA is a coalition representing Pakistan's non-Muslim religious minorities (Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Balmeek, Bheel, Maingwal, Zoarastrian, Bahai and Kelash communities). Using advocacy and lobbying, APMA "raise(s) minorities' issues and concerns with the government authorities, parliamentarians, human rights organizations and media.”

APMA, the World Evangelical Alliance statement continued, is assisting many victims of “discriminatory laws and blasphemy laws and also supporting and protecting victims of terrorist attacks of Islamic militants especially since 11 Sept. 2001 ... APMA is struggling to protect and ensure religious freedom in Pakistan.”

According to International Christian Concern ( http://www.persecution.org/Countries/pakistan.html - www.persecution.org/Countries/pakistan.html ),  97.6% of Pakistan's people are Muslims. Hindus comprise 1.5% and Christians 1.7%. 70% of the Christian population is in the poorest segment of society. The growth of the Christian church is calculated at 3.9%.

International Christian Concern commented, “There are numerous extremist Muslim groups currently operating within (Pakistan). The government's inability to provide basic services in recent years has left room for many of these groups to step in and assume various responsibilities. These responsibilities include running clinics and hospitals, setting up job training, providing dowries, and operating institutes of higher education. In addition to the universities, these groups also operate madrassas, which are Islamic schools whose curriculum often includes military/weapons training