Christians in Pakistan Protest Demolition of Four Churches

Veronica Neffinger | iBelieve Contributor | Updated: May 05, 2016

Christians in Pakistan Protest Demolition of Four Churches

Christians in Pakistan are protesting the impending demolition of four churches which are set to be torn down to accommodate a train line.

According to Christian Today, Christians protested outside Lahore High Court on May 3. They brought signs and chanted phrases such as “we don’t give an inch of our holy places” and “we want our rights.”

The four Lahore churches which are scheduled to be torn down to make room for the train line are Cathedral Church, Naulakha church, St. Andrew’s Church, and Bohar Wala Church.

Pakistan is one of the worst countries for abuse of religious freedom rights, according to the United States Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which recommended that Pakistan be designated as a “country of particular concern.”

Christians in Pakistan recently suffered a massive attack when 72 people were killed in a suicide bombing on Easter Sunday. Additionally, a couple years ago in 2014, 134 children were killed in a massacre in Peshawar.

“There is no respite for them and one problem after the other seems to follow Pakistani Christians," said Nasir Saeed, director of CLAAS-UK.

"The Christians who are still in mourning after the Easter Sunday attack and are still trying to deal with that trauma, are now faced with the issue of the demolition of their four historic churches in Lahore... the province where Christians suffer most," Saeed said.

"The Government shouldn't play with Christians' religious feelings and should avoid further aggrieving pressurizing the Christian minority of Pakistan," he added.

Publication date: May 5, 2016



Christians in Pakistan Protest Demolition of Four Churches