Recent events in Pakistan have left the minority Christian population vulnerable to attacks, looting, and burning. The Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, now known as World Renew, is responding by providing support and living supplies to those displaced by violence.

The situation began on August 16, 2012 when an eleven-year old Christian girl with special needs was arrested under Pakistan’s Blasphemy law.

Rimsha Masih had been preparing a fire near her home in the slums using papers she collected from the garbage. A neighbour claimed that the burning pages were from a religious Islamic book. He raised an alarm and soon an angry mob attacked Rimsha and her family. Police rescued them from the crowd and placed the girl under arrest.

Recent events in Pakistan have left the minority Christian population vulnerable to attacks, looting, and burning.  The Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, now known as World Renew, is responding by providing support and living supplies to those displaced by violence.

The situation began on August 16, 2012 when an eleven-year old Christian girl with special needs was arrested under Pakistan’s Blasphemy law.

Rimsha has been reunited with her family and they have all been taken into protective custody at an undisclosed location following the initial threats. They remain in hiding out of fear of possible backlash.

Rimsha Masih had been preparing a fire near her home in the slums using papers she collected from the garbage.  A neighbour claimed that the burning pages were from a religious Islamic book. He raised an alarm and soon an angry mob attacked Rimsha and her family.  Police rescued them from the crowd and placed the girl under arrest.

After this intervention from the police, the mob returned to the slum area and looted and burned houses of Christian families. Nearly 2,000 Christian families fled from the area and took shelter in houses and church compounds.

According to the BBC, “a cleric who had accused her was arrested last week for allegedly planting evidence against her, and himself desecrating the Koran.”

Rimsha’s case is still pending. Last week, under growing pressure from rights groups who were outraged that a juvenile had spent more than three weeks in jail, a judge approved Rimsha's request to be released on bail. The All Pakistan Minorities Alliance, which represents religious minorities in the country, paid the sum of roughly $10,000 to secure Rimsha's release from jail.  

Rimsha has been reunited with her family and they have all been taken into protective custody at an undisclosed location following the initial threats. They remain in hiding out of fear of possible backlash.

According to World Renew’s partner, the Inter-faith League Against Poverty (I-LAP)’s Executive Director, Nazia Ansari, the girl’s release on bail was “the first time in the history of the country that such an accomplishment has been made regarding a Blasphemy case and we humbly thank God for it.”

World Renew is providing support through I-LAP to 200 Christian families who were displaced a result of this incident. I-LAP assisted Christian families in fleeing from the area and also united Pastors from various churches in Islamabad and mobilized them to provide refuge to families displaced from their homes. World Renew and I-LAP will provide temporary shelter, kitchen sets, hygiene kits, beds, mattresses as well as legal assistance to those affected.

Please pray for Rimsha to be cleared of these blasphemy charges as well for the rights of all religious minorities to be upheld in Pakistan.