Window International Network

Christians in Pakistan are urging prayer for the South Asian nation after approximately 25 Christians were kidnapped and others were beaten up by armed men with an extremist Islamic group who attacked them during a prayer meeting in Peshawar on Saturday, June 21, 2008. Sixteen Christians were released by the Lashkar-e-Islam (the Army of Islam) from Academy Town (NWFP) in the northwestern area of Peshawar on Sunday, June 24, 2008, according to Christian group CLAAS-UK. Although the actual number of abductees remains unconfirmed, reports state that there were 25 in total. The fate of the others remains unknown.

“The attackers did not give any reason for their act,” a Christian leader wrote in an e-mail to Window International Network (WIN). “They attacked the gathering organized at the residence of one of the members in connection with a charity dinner. Please pray for them. Pakistani Christians need WIN’s prayers.”
 

 
Christians in Pakistan are urging prayer for the South Asian nation after approximately 25 Christians were kidnapped and others were beaten up by armed men with an extremist Islamic group who attacked them during a prayer meeting in Peshawar on Saturday, June 21, 2008.
 
Sixteen Christians were released by the Lashkar-e-Islam (the Army of Islam) from Academy Town (NWFP) in the northwestern area of Peshawar on Sunday, June 24, 2008, according to Christian group CLAAS-UK, Christian Today reported. Although the actual number of abductees remains unconfirmed, reports state that there were 25 in total. The fate of the others remains unknown.
 
“The incident created panic in Banaras Abad, a suburban locality home to around 350 Christian families here at Academy Town,” a Christian leader wrote in an e-mail to Window International Network (WIN). “The attackers did not give any reason for their act. … They attacked the gathering organized at the residence of one of the members in connection with a charity dinner. Please pray for them. Pakistani Christians need WIN’s prayers.”
 
Sources tell CLAAS-UK that the abductees had received threatening letters a month earlier telling them to stop their religious activities, but they refused, Christian Today reported.

This is not the first time that Christians living in NWFP have received such threats or have been kidnapped. Persecution against Christians in the region has been ongoing for the last few years, Christian Today reported.
 
Pakistan is ranked No. 17 on Open Doors’ 2007 World Watch List of nations where Christians are persecuted for their faith.
 
According to Window International Network’s Praying Through The Window 9 prayer calendar, the day of prayer for Pakistan is on day 28.
 
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