Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options

Christians and other minority groups in Pakistan have been warned to be on their guard in the wake of the killing of Salman Taseer, governor of Pakistan’s Punjab Province. Auxiliary Bishop Sebastian Shaw of Lahore said that across Pakistan people were “shocked and horrified” by the assassination on Jan. 4. The late governor had been a critic of Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy law. Bishop Shaw said he was calling on the faithful to avoid public comment or action that could be misinterpreted and used to justify acts of violence and intimidation. “All of our people need to be very careful. Saying anything can incite the mob. We must not live in fear. We must have faith in God. But if we go on the streets to express ourselves at this time, it will create a negative reaction.” Pakistan’s blasphemy law has been increasingly criticized as a pretext for violence and intimidation of minority groups, particularly Christians.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

A community gathers in resistance. Photo by Dany Díaz Mejía. Photo courtesy of Rene Aleman Resistance Camp.
“We are alive only through the grace of God. At one point, I got messages saying someone had offered 1 million lempiras [$38,000] to have me killed.”
Dany Díaz MejíaJuly 02, 2025
Workers unload food commodities from Catholic Relief Services and USAID in the village of Behera, near Tulear, Madagascar, Oct. 22, 2016. (OSV News Photo/Nancy McNally, Catholic Relief Services)
The end of U.S.A.I.D. will result in the loss of a “staggering” 14 million lives by 2030, including the deaths of 4.5 million children under age 5.
Kevin ClarkeJuly 02, 2025
Homily for the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, by Father Terrance Klein
Terrance KleinJuly 02, 2025