Radical Islamist Political Party Puts $62k Bounty on Pakistani Christian
Faraz Pervaiz, a Christian activist in Pakistan, fled the country after defamatory photos, caricatures and statements of and by him and his father went viral on social media in 2014.
According to The Christian Post, Muslim extremists began to target Pervaiz after he spoke out about Christians’ homes being pillaged and robbed.
International Christian Concern reports that before fleeing the country, Pervaiz challenged the politics and theology of Islam by leading protests.
Because of his activism, in 2015, the Tahreek-e-Labbaik political party placed a $62,000 bounty on Prevaiz’s head. The bounty would be increased to $124,000 the next year.
Radical Muslims also made a video calling on every family in Pakistan to find and kill Pervaiz. Part of the campaign that threatened his life included a video doxing his location. It was for this reason he had to flee to Thailand with his family.
Now, posters offering a $62,800 reward and asserting that Pervaiz will be beheaded if he is found, have been distributed around Karachi, Pakistan, UCA News reports.
According to The Christian Post, this has led to Pervaiz being attacked. The activist reports being attacked by four Muslims at a grocery store.
The Pakistani government has also sided against Pervaiz. In 2017, the government filed a blasphemy case against him.
According to Pervaiz, this was the first time the government had officially filed a blasphemy case against a citizen of Pakistan, despite the country being known for having the most blasphemy lockups of any country in the world.
“I am in a situation where we are helpless here,” Pervaiz explained in a phone interview with The Christian Post. “Actually, it’s not the fault of UNHCR. This is the fault of my people, my Christian community. They are not taking any serious measures for our safety,” he said.
According to persecution watchdog Open Doors USA, Pakistan is the fifth-worst country for Christian persecution.
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Cofkocof
John Paluska has been a contributor for Christian Headlines since 2016 and is the founder of The Daily Fodder, a news outlet he relaunched in 2019 as a response to the constant distribution of fake news.
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