Source: www.csw.org.uk
Date: June 8, 2024
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. (Matthew 5:4)
This week we mourn with the family of Lazar ‘Nazir’ Masih, a 73-year-old Christian in Pakistan. Nazir’s life was cruelly taken by an extremist mob, following an unfounded accusation of blasphemy.
Pray for Lazar ‘Nazir’ Masih's loved ones.
On the morning of 25 May, members of the Muslim community in Mujahid Colony broadcast accusations that Nazir had allegedly burnt pages of the Qur’an. This prompted a mob of over 1,000 people to attack his home and the shoe factory he owned for six years.
Local police intervened and rescued his family. But members of the mob violently attacked Nazir, including with stones, bricks and steel rods.
Police claimed Nazir was seized by the mob. However, his nephew told our partners in Pakistan that the police had handed him over.
Nazir was eventually rescued and taken to hospital, where he sadly passed away nine days later.
His death is yet another stark reminder of why Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws must be repealed. They are a dangerous driver of religious extremism, and those who take the law into their own hands must be brought to justice.
In summary, please pray:
- For all of Lazar ‘Nazir’ Masih's loved ones, asking the Lord to surround them with comfort and peace.
- That those responsible for Mr Masih’s death do not escape punishment, but are swiftly brought to justice.
- For effective action to dismantle the culture of impunity, which emboldens people to take the law into their own hands.
- For divine protection around Christians and other religious minorities, who are disproportionately targeted with unjust accusations.
- That Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are repealed as a matter of urgency