Pakistan: Christian Murdered and Airport Closes

Although Iran has been the hot topic in the news lately, one of its neighbors, Pakistan has also found itself in the headlines. Today the LA Times reported that the Peshawar airport in Pakistan is closed because of a terrorist threat against a civilian aircraft. Last week a Christian man was raped and brutally murdered for refusing to convert to Islam. Only 28 years-old, Tariq "Litto" Mashi Ghauri was a university student in Pakistan was stabbed five times and raped by the brothers of his Muslim girlfriend. The scary thing is the lip service that officials pay to these horrific scenarios. Fox reported:

The [Pakistani] official said that minorities are very well represented in the Pakistani Parliament, and if someone in fact were murdered for not converting to Islam, "it would have been reported hugely." […] Yet human rights watchdog groups say that what happened to Litto Ghauri is not uncommon because Christians in Pakistan are looked upon as the dregs of society. Pakistan's population is 97 percent Muslim, and Christians are only a very small part of the remaining 3 percent.

Around the world, Pakistan is considered one of the most hostile countries in the world for minority religions. In Pakistan, expressing yourself can be punishable by death if you express anything that goes against Islam or the Koran. Standing by when people are getting murdered just because they don’t believe in Islam can no longer be an option. We need to keep our eyes and ears open to these incidents and raise awareness.