Prisoners of Faith: Pakistan

Imtiaz 0:02
When people are hurting, he's close to them, especially those who have broken hearts, those who have gone through the storms of life. There is a sense that God puts his arms around them and comforts them.

Sarah 0:18
Across the world today, millions of Christians are persecuted. They face discrimination, imprisonment, displacement, and even death simply because of their faith in Jesus Christ. These courageous believers are our brothers and sisters. We are in this together with them and we need to hear their voice. Join host, Sarah , as we discover their stories today on Release International's Voice Podcast. How would you feel if you were arrested and imprisoned because of your faith? In some parts of the world, the prospect of spending time in prison is an imminent risk for Christian believers. In Pakistan hundreds of Christians have been falsely accused under the notorious blasphemy laws and many are currently behind bars. On today's podcast, I'm joined by Release worker Imtiaz and Released partner Waseem who is based in Pakistan. We are going to discover what life is like, not just for Christian prisoners, but also for their families. Welcome guys.

Imtiaz 1:23
Thank you very much. Sarah , thank you for giving us this opportunity to come and talk about the difficulties and the struggles that Christians are having in Pakistan.

Sarah 1:33
Between you both, you have many years of experience serving the church in Pakistan. Christians there face persecution in a number of ways. But I'd particularly like to talk to you both about Christians who have been prosecuted or imprisoned under the strict blasphemy laws. Could you tell me more about those laws?

Imtiaz 1:51
The blasphemy law in Pakistan, Sarah, has really damaged the Christian community. And this blasphemy law has four parts to it. The first part is that basically if you injure or defile places of worship and intend to insult the religion of any class you can face up to two years of imprisonment. But also if you deliberately and maliciously intend to hurt the feelings of those who believe in a religion, you can get up to 10 years. And also if you defile the Quran in any way, you can be imprisoned for life. And if you make any derogatory remarks against Mohammad , there could be a death and a fine.

Sarah 2:51
So although the sentence for blaspheming Islam's prophet is death, no one has actually been executed by the State in Pakistan. But often they're killed by the mob before it's even gone to trial.

Imtiaz 3:06
And this is a really frightening experience when you get a mob coming towards you and attacking you in this way in a frenzy. The mob, they don't care if you're innocent or not innocent. For them you've committed blasphemy.

Sarah 3:24
All too often it's an allegation that is misused just to settle personal scores or take out rivals.

Imtiaz 3:32
Most Christians, well I would say all Christians in Pakistan - I would be very, very surprised that they would deliberately blaspheme - they know the consequences. And the first woman in Pakistan , uh, to be given the death penalty was Asia Bibi.

Sarah 3:53
We recently celebrated the amazing news of Asia Bibi's acquittal. She was a woman who was convicted of blasphemy and spent more than eight years on death row. And her story rightly got lots of media attention, but hers was not a unique case as she herself has pointed out. In a recent interview with the Sunday Telegraph. Waseem, could you tell us about some of the other cases of Christians who have been put in prison for blasphemy who may be not as high profile as she was?

Waseem 4:21
Yes, I have heard the interview of Asia Bibi, and she has appealed to the people who are really concerned to pray for the other people who are in a prison and especially the people under this law, Sharia law 295C, and they are suffering in jails and waiting for their death. So I know some of them, many of them, they are not registered , uh , many of them, they are not published. But I assume , um, I think there are more than 1,500 people. They are suffering in Pakistan under this law.

Sarah 5:11
And Asia also said in that interview with the Sunday Telegraph that people should go and visit and listen to those who are in prison. Waseem, I understand that you recently went to visit prisoner of faith, Zafar Bhatti, who's been in prison for seven years already and he has a life sentence. What was it like meeting him?

Waseem 5:31
We went there, we spent an hour with my assistant. We had a good time with him and he was so, so happy and his eyes was like shining, his face was shining. Because he said for a long, long time, except his wife, nobody's visiting him. And he said , you are the one, you visited me. And I mean this was really a miracle for him. He said, so this is miracle. Somebody else has come and visited me.

Sarah 6:08
Well, that's brilliant that you were able to visit him and spend time with him. What are the conditions like for him? What was the prison like? Could you paint us a picture?

Imtiaz 6:19
Sarah, when I visited, it was really quite shocking. I mean I found that the conditions they were living in were horrific. I mean , when I visited these people, I could see from the background that they basically sleep on the floor. There's a little toilet there and that's all there is really for them. And one person told me that most of the time what they do is they just walk around in the cell or maybe they read the Bible. There's nothing else much to do for them. I remember seeing one person and he told me that he basically himself was spending over 20 hours in the cell.

Sarah 7:03
How do they keep their minds, their sanity?

Imtiaz 7:06
Well, for Christians, I think it is very difficult for them. But because of their love for God and their trust for God, they hold onto that faith. But I think some of them, we have to be honest, some of them still do struggle with depression and suicidal thoughts and obviously missing their loved ones.

Sarah 7:34
I'm talking to Waseem and Imtiaz about Christians in Pakistan who have been convicted and imprisoned under the country's notorious blasphemy laws . We've heard about the misuse of those laws and the difficult conditions in prison. But it's not just the prisoners themselves who suffer. We know that it isn't just the prisoners who are affected. As you said, it's the prisoner's families as well. Imtiaz, you spent some time with Noab, Zafar's wife recently, didn't you? And you spent a lot of time with Asia's husband. What is it like for them?

Imtiaz 8:14
I think for any family whose loved one is in prison it's very difficult emotionally but also it is very difficult practically because if the breadwinner is in prison, then how do they find money to pay for the rent and to buy food. And so these are the real difficulties. But also it can be unsafe for them as well because their loved ones have committed blasphemy and they are in prison and if people round the village kind of know that, it can also be dangerous for them. So they have to be very careful themselves.

Waseem 9:02
Because we have experienced , the families with their loved one in the prisons, sometimes the prisoner's children they stopped going to school. Then they become , uh , like a pick pockets, and other social evils because there is no money. No one is looking after them. We have seen many families of the one who is in prison really ruined.

Sarah 9:39
Ashiq, Asia's husband, spoke of his emotional agony to the press once. He said that if a loved one is dead, the heart heals after some time. But when a mother is alive and she gets separated from the children, the way Asia was taken away, the agony is endless. So we need to remember the families , don't we, not just those who are suffering in the prison. Is the local church able to help in these situations?

Waseem 10:07
Yes. Honestly, there are some people , uh, churches, they have a prayer time. They pray for them, the prisoners and their families. And there are, I noticed, a couple of churches, they visit the prisons maybe on Easter time or Christmas time to take food for them. And there are only one or two churches. Uh, but generally there is no regular visitation. There is no regular , uh, financial support for them and the families. Uh, yeah, because churches don't have a money.

Sarah 10:51
And what is Release doing to help? I understand that we've set up a new Prisoners of Faith project? Could you tell us about that?

Imtiaz 10:58
Sarah, we're really concerned about those who have been in prison for their faith cause this is what we , uh, we believe the heart of Release is to support and minister to those who have been in prison for their faith. And so we've asked Waseem to set up a ministry that will support practically and spiritually the families of those who have been imprisoned and to visit the families, and to visit the prisoners.

Waseem 11:32
Yes. I found another thing good, which Release is doing very well. Release is not just supporting the prisoners and their families financially. Uh, the policy of Release is ,which I like it , to pray for the prisoners and their families and spend some time with them sharing the word of God and encouraging them. This has been really good in my experience while I started this ministry.

Sarah 12:03
That's wonderful. Release is committed not just to help practically, but also prayerfully and pastorally as well. Imtiaz, you've spoken a lot about Psalm 34, verse 18, which says the Lord is close to the broken hearted. Are Pakistani Christians who've been put in prison experiencing a level of God's closeness that sustains them.

Imtiaz 12:26
Uh, yes, Sarah , they are. You know, this verse is such a crucial verse for all Christians who suffer, all Christians who are persecuted, because it reveals the nature of God. And the nature of God is that when people are hurting, he's close to them, especially those who have broken hearts, those who have gone through the storms of life. There is a sense that God puts his arms around them and comforts them. And uh , the Christians that Waseem and myself have ministered to, we do use this verse to remind them that God is close even through the sufferings and even through , uh , incredible difficulties. And that God holds their hand and walks with them in these kind of difficulties. And what we've found is that sometimes when we've been praying, when we've been ministering , people have suddenly started to cry because the emotion has come out. And , uh , we thank God that he is , uh, anointed us to love them, to minister to them. And this really, really does help them actually being with our brothers and sisters who have suffered in this way lifts their hearts and just gives them hope and reminds them that there are Christians in the UK who love them, are praying for them and supporting them.

Sarah 13:58
And it reminds them that Jesus loves them. Another verse that's important to us at Release is Hebrews 13:3. It's one of the clearest motivations for the work that we do. And it says, remember those in prisoner as if you were their fellow prisoners and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves with suffering. Some prisoners experience depression and suicidal thoughts. How do we become the hands and feet of Jesus to them - even though there's this huge distance and we're not physically in the prison cell with them?

Waseem 14:29
I am really encouraged when I read this verse. Remember those in one prison as if you are their fellow prisoners. So we, we can have the same feelings , uh , like they are suffering in prison cells , uh, and we can stand with them, with them in their cells by praying with them, by visiting them, by supporting financially. Uh , so this is a quite a challenging call , uh, for the believers of the world.

Sarah 15:05
Thank you so much Imtiaz and Waseem for sharing with us today and for helping us to remember those who are in prison and we pray that we will be able to continue to remember them and support them the way that you two do. Thank you.

Waseem 15:21
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Sarah 15:28
Life is not easy for Christian prisoners and their families. They face depression, loneliness , mistreatment, and poverty. For many of us, their situation is a world away from our own and yet the Bible tells us to remember them as if we were together with them in prison. Are you willing to stand with them, to identify with them and enter into their prison cells as you pray for them? Thank you so much for listening to Release International's Voice Podcast. Please do subscribe through your favourite podcast app and stay connected to the voice of persecuted Christians. There are many other ways you can get involved. For more information on how you can pray and support persecuted believers across the world, please visit our website www.releaseinternational.org. Amongst many resources there you can find our prisoner profiles to help you pray in a more detailed way for Christian prisoners around the world, including Zafar Bhatti, whose case we discussed today. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

Outro 16:36
Remember those who are in prison as if you were in there together with them and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. Do not abandon them.