Dear friends
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is concerned by information regarding the assault and abduction of Pastor Wilson Fazal, on 16 May 2004 in Quetta, Pakistan. Prior to this incident, three churches in Quetta had reportedly received letters instructing them to expel all Muslims from their institutions and to abandon their preaching and other activities.
This case reflects the ongoing abuse of minorities and religious intolerance in Pakistan. Your urgent action is required to pressure the Government of Pakistan to take effective steps in protecting the rights of all minorities and ensuring that discriminatory legislation is repealed.
Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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CASE DETAILS
Victim: Pastor Wilson Fazal, resident of Kili Deba, Spinie Road, Quetta
Date of incident: 16 May 2004
Pastor Wilson Fazal, father of six, an active preacher famous for sharing and administering the Gospel to even the Muslim community, was abducted by unknown persons on Sunday, 16 May 2004, while he was on his way to the PGA Church in Bashirabad, Quetta.
Prior to his abduction, Pastor Wilson has received an anonymous letter instructing him to abandon his preaching and spreading of Christianity, or face dire consequences. Pastor Wilson had informed the Deputy Inspector General and the Home Secretary about the letter together with other church elders, and they had been assured that nothing bad would happen. Similarly, Pastor Samuel Ratna from the Bethel Memorial Methodist Church had also received a similar letter along with some other pastors on 22 and 23 April 2004 respectively. Therefore, Pastor Samuel Ratna, Pastor Samuel Sadiq, Pastor Younis Fiaz from St. Mary’s School and some others informed the concerned ASP (Assistant Superintendent of the Police), who assured them that they would be given every assistance whenever they feel insecure. However, there were no further follow-ups to the case.
Pastor Wilson received a further letter on 15 May 2004, accusing him of blasphemy. He informed Aasia Nasir, an active member of the national assembly, also Christian, as well as some other Pastors, and together they went to the DIG and Home Secretary. Pastor Wilson was provided with one police guard, who came to his house in the evening and left at midnight, saying that he had been on duty since morning and could not be expected to work throughout the night. The next morning Pastor Samuel informed the police station and protested their negligence. Another guard was sent to protect Pastor Wilson, a Christian, who was not given any relief while he remained outside Pastor Samuel’s house for three to four days.
On 16 May 2004, Pastor Wilson left his house at about 8:30 am for the Bashirabad Church. He first went to the house of Lazarus Masih, a Church elder, to inform him to lead the prayer. After informing him, he was about to knock on the door next to Lazarus’ house, when some men came in a red car, grabbed him and drove away. After the Mass was over, Lazarus and others went to look for Pastor Wilson, but could not find him. They later informed the police, and lodged a First Information Report (FIR No: 47/2004).
According to Pastor Wilson who managed to eventually escape, the men in the car covered his face with a piece of cloth and drove for about two hours until they arrived somewhere that the Pastor thought was a madressah. During the journey the Pastor was made to sit in the center of the back seat with his head pushed down. The men sat on either side of him and continuously hit his head with their fists. The man sitting in front was allegedly reciting something in Arabic.
On arrival at the madressah, the men shaved his head and mustache and called him a Kafir (infidel). They also slapped him and told him to abandon his activities and forced him to recite certain Islamic prayers.
They then continued their journey and reached a basement at night. The Pastor was blindfolded, and someone guided him down the stairs. Inside, they took off his blindfold and he saw unexpected devices such as microphones, different types of wires, dish antennas, cylinders, wireless devices and other equipment that he could not identify. According to the Pastor, there were many men present, including two white persons.
Pastor Wilson was shown photographs of various buildings and pastors. Most of them were of foreign pastors like Morris Sorolo, Peter Youngren and others but he only knew a few. The men asked him whether he knew them and how much financial aid he got from them and from other local pastors. They also asked him about their addresses and activities and beat him if he did not give them satisfactory answers: they pulled both arms and hit him with barbed wire rolled on a stick. He was also questioned regarding where he obtained his religious books and money from, who he worked for and to whom he gave information and reports.
Subsequently they took his wallet (which had ten thousand rupees in it) and removed three one thousand rupee notes, tore them from the center and asked him to sign every piece. The four men who had abducted him also signed every piece and handed over the signed notes to the others present. Suddenly there was some commotion and Pastor Wilson was taken to another room, from which he was taken to the car on another journey.
They were about to reach Peshawar that night, when a police patrol began to follow them as they were driving over the speed limit. The men pushed him out of the car and drove off. The Pastor waved at the police vehicle but apparently the police did not see him due to the dark and the speed they were driving in. Another car then came, but after seeing the Pastor’s condition, the occupants refused to help him. The Pastor then got on a bus that was going to Rawalpindi, from where he made his way to the MNA hostel in Islamabad on May 19. He met Rafiq Gill (MNA) there and informed his relatives and Bishop William Johnson (PGA), who brought him to Lahore.
The Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS) has filed a writ petition for the Pastor’s security.
BACKGROUND INFROMATION:
Pastor Wilson Fazal did his training in 1982 from PGA Seminary Lahore and had set up his own churches in Quetta at Bashirabad and Kili Deba where he lives. He had been very active in sharing the Gospel to the Muslim community as well as to the Christian community. A lot of Muslims used to come to his church and to his ‘healing prayer crusades’, where they had apparently been getting relief from their ailments and praising God for His glory.
According to Pastor Wilson, he had been in continuous surveillance for the last three years by different people. Many times people had taken his pictures and followed his car, and on 4 May 2004 he was stopped by a person as he was returning from dropping Pastor Sadiq Paul (a convert from Islam to Christianity, who is also facing persecution at the hands of his superiors since he works in the Pakistan Air Force) at his place. He was asked various questions but he managed to get away. However, Pastor Wilson said that he had notreported this to either the police or to Bishop William Johnson.
This case reflects the ongoing abuse of minorities and religious intolerance in Pakistan. The Government of Pakistan must take effective steps in protecting the rights of all minorities and ensuring that discriminatory legislation is repealed.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send a letter, fax or email to the following authorities to express your concern regarding this case.
1. General Pervez Musharraf
President
Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan Secretariat,
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 922 4768 / 920 1893 or 1835
2. Minister for Law, Justice,
Human Rights, and Parliamentary Affairs
Dr. Khalid Ranjha
‘S’ Block Pak Secretariat, Islamabad
Fax: +92-51-9202628
Email: molaw1@comsats.net.pk
3. Mr. Shoaib Suddle
Provincial Police Officer,
Balochistan
FAX: 92 811 9202178/ 9202992
4. Mr. Awais Ghani
Provincial Governor
Governor House, Quetta
Fax: 92 811 9202178/ 9202992
5. Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights
on Freedom of Religion or Belief
c/o Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations Office
8-14 Avenue de la Paix
1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland
Fax: +41 22 917 9003
E-mail: urgent-action@ohchr.org
6. Mr. Zdizlaw Kedzia
Working Group on Minorities
C/o OHCHR-UNOG, 1211 Geneva 10,
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9137
Fax: +41 22 917 9010
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear
RE: Christian pastor abducted and assaulted in Quetta
I am writing to you in concern about the information regarding the assault and abduction of Pastor Wilson Fazal in Quetta, Pakistan. On 16 May 2004, Pastor Wilson left his house at about 8:30 am for the Bashirabad Church. He first went to the house of Lazarus Masih, a Church elder, to inform him to lead the prayer. After informing him, he was about to knock on the door next to Lazarus’ house, when some men came in a red car, grabbed him and drove away. The Pastor was blindfolded in the car and was beaten by the men. He was later verbally abused, threatened and questioned regarding his practice of Christianity.
Prior to this incident, three churches in Quetta had reportedly received letters instructing them to expel all Muslims from their institutions and to abandon their preaching and other activities.
I urge you to ensure that Pastor Wilson is protected and that witness protection programs are established throughout Pakistan. I also urge you to conduct an immediate inquiry into this case and punish the perpetrators. This case reflects the ongoing abuse of minorities and religious intolerance in Pakistan. The Government of Pakistan must take effective steps in protecting the rights of all minorities and ensuring that discriminatory legislation is repealed. Also, legislation must be enacted against hate speech towards Christians and other minorities.
Yours sincerely,
