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Confronting Religious Persecution at the IRF Summit

Feb. 10Stories That Demand Action:

Last week I spoke on a panel at the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit in Washington, D.C.—a global gathering that brings together advocates, policymakers, and legal experts from around the world who are on the front lines of defending religious freedom. The Summit provides a rare forum to share firsthand experiences, expose ongoing...More

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Persecuted Pakistani Christians

Our affiliate in Pakistan is investigating the tragic murder of a young Christian who was killed by a radical Muslim neighbor after the Christian bravely intervened to protect his two siblings.

The case involves the horrific murder of Suleman, the son of Iqbal Masih, a Christian who leased two acres of farmland for his family near Gujranwala (between Islamabad and Lahore). The landlord leased the land to Iqbal because of his Christian faith, believing that Christians could be trusted in their business practices.

The Muslim locals did not want Christians living or working near them. As a result, the neighboring family attempted to drive the Christian family off their land by repeatedly beating Iqbal and charging the exorbitant price of 60,000 rupees (approximately $215) for the family to have access to the Muslim-controlled water supply – essentially a shakedown.

The family’s troubles continued when Suleman, the Christian man’s son, attempted to harvest his father’s crops in October 2024. Abdul-Rehman, one of the Muslim neighbors, shot at Suleman to end his harvesting and seriously damaged one of the Christian father’s harvesting machines. When he reported the crime, disgustingly, he was the one arrested instead. The police held the Christian father for a week and displayed no interest in bringing justice after the attack.

In late December 2024, the Muslim man, Abdul, shot at one of the Christian man’s other sons as he was walking with his little sister. When his son Suleman bravely came from the house to intervene, Abdul shot him in the stomach and fled the scene. Devastatingly, Suleman died in the hospital on New Year’s Day 2025. He was engaged to be married next month.

The Christian family filed another police report on the day of the shooting, but questions remain regarding the investigation or lack thereof.

Christians in Pakistan face many forms of persecution. In addition to the sickening homicide, at the heart of this case is the issue of “land grabbing,” which has been occurring in Pakistan for decades. The Constitution of Pakistan protects landowners against the forcible seizure of their private property. While courts are overloaded and often inefficient at resolving the high volume of claims concerning this issue, it is often worse for Christians since the courts often ignore their claims or side with Muslims, regardless of the facts.

Land grabbing often involves significant sociological factors, which are often tribal or religious. Recent reporting on religious land disputes has focused mainly on historic Sunni-Shia tensions in Pakistan. In less-reported cases where the victim of a land grab is a Christian farmer or small landholder and his aggressors are Muslim, accusations of blasphemy and intimidation through violence are common tactics.

We have previously reported how dangerous it is for Christians in Pakistan to be accused of blasphemy against Islam even when the allegations are false. You can read about our affiliate’s work to protect these Christians here, here, and here.

Our team in Pakistan has offered its legal services to Suleman’s family. We hope to bring some much-needed justice to this situation, consistent with our mission to defend persecuted Christians in Pakistan.

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Signatures

Shaheryar Gill  //

Feb 10, 2026

Last week I spoke on a panel at the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit in Washington, D.C.—a global gathering that brings together advocates, policymakers, and legal experts from around the world who...

Shaheryar Gill  //

Jan 27, 2026

We recently informed you about V, a seven-year-old girl, who was sexually abused by a Muslim neighbor in Pakistan. We have been working on a similar, and even more horrific, case in which two Christian women...

Shaheryar Gill  //

Jan 21, 2026

Today I want to bring you an important update on another critical case involving a vulnerable seven-year-old Christian girl , to whom we will refer as “V” to protect her identity. V was sexually abused by a...