UCA News
Contribute

Pakistani Christians call on West to rescue Afghan minorities

Rights activists fear for the future of non-Muslims after the Taliban's takeover of the neighboring country
Pakistani Christians call on West to rescue Afghan minorities

Taliban fighters near Zanbaq Square in Kabul on Aug. 16 after a stunningly swift takeover of Afghanistan's capital. (Photo: AFP)

Published: August 31, 2021 08:41 AM GMT
Updated: August 31, 2021 08:52 AM GMT

Christian activists in Pakistan are urging the international community to save minority communities in Afghanistan amid the withdrawal of US forces.

“There has been no statement on non-Muslim Afghans. We condemn dual standards on vulnerable groups. The West seems to use human rights as a political agenda. They highlight minority persecution in targeted countries alone,” Sabir Michael, a human rights activist and professor at the University of Karachi, told UCA News.

“We are not sure about the status of religious minorities now under Taliban control. Are they equal citizens or paying jizya [a tax on non-Muslims]? What about those left physically handicapped in the war?”

Christians in Afghanistan number 10,000 to 12,000. Most are converts from Islam. For decades they have largely practiced their faith underground as conversion is considered a crime punishable by death under Sharia law.

According to Pastor Irfan James, who visited the Shahr-e Naw neighborhood in Kabul last December, most Christians have fled Afghanistan's main cities. Since 2015, the missionary has been evangelizing in Jalalabad, the Afghan city that lies less than 200 kilometers from Kurram, his hometown in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

“I do not see any international concern for them. They have been rejected. The new government is known for breaking its promises and agreements. Religious minorities are not safe anymore,” he said.

According to conservative political commentator Glenn Beck, the Nazarene Fund has flown 5,100 Christians and other refugees out of Afghanistan since it fell to the Taliban this month. He claimed Afghan Christians were among the scores killed in the suicide bomb attack that ripped through the crowd just outside one of Kabul airport’s gates last week.

Former US Congressman Mark Walker has alleged that a Christian Afghan was skinned alive and hanged from a pole by the Taliban on Aug. 7.

Balpreet Singh, legal counsel and spokesperson for the World Sikh Organization, estimates that fewer than 200 Sikhs are left in Afghanistan.

Help UCA News to be independent
Dear reader,
Lent is the season during which catechumens make their final preparations to be welcomed into the Church.
Each year during Lent, UCA News presents the stories of people who will join the Church in proclaiming that Jesus Christ is their Lord. The stories of how women and men who will be baptized came to believe in Christ are inspirations for all of us as we prepare to celebrate the Church's chief feast.
Help us with your donations to bring such stories of faith that make a difference in the Church and society.
A small contribution of US$5 will support us continue our mission…
William J. Grimm
Publisher
UCA News
comment

Share your comments

1 Comments on this Story
NAEEM HARRY
Good column
Asian Bishops
Latest News
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia