17 Years Old – Arrested for Sharing the Gospel in Pakistan

As we continue fighting for our clients Shahzad Masih, the Ayub brothers, and Ahsan Masih — all facing death sentences because of false blasphemy allegations – our affiliate in Pakistan, the Organization for Legal Aid (OLA), has now been asked to take on yet another troubling case.

This time, it involves a 19-year-old Christian, Zubaeem Masih. (“Masih” is a common Christian surname meaning “Messiah.”)

Zubaeem was just 17 when he and four other Christian youths were arrested in September 2024. Their “crime”? Publicly sharing their Christian faith at a railway station.

According to a police complaint filed by a bystander, one of the young women in the group used a loudspeaker to preach that salvation comes through Christ. The complainant claimed this message offended him and hurt the religious feelings of Muslims nearby.

The bystander alleged that he heard the young woman say that fasting, prayer, and the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca cannot lead a person to heaven, and that only Christ, the Son of God, can forgive sins and grant eternal life. He further claimed that the four youths standing with her agreed with her message and that, by preaching Christianity, they had insulted Islam and hurt the feelings of Muslims.

That accusation was enough. Police arrested all five youths and charged them under section 120 of the Pakistan Railway Act and sections 298 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

Section 120(b) of the Railway Act prohibits commission of “any nuisance or act of indecency or uses [of] obscene or abusive language.” None of this is applicable to the conduct of Zubaeem or his companions. Nothing in their conduct was indecent, and no mention is made of them posing any nuisance. The language they used in preaching was neither obscene nor abusive, but merely an expression of Christian faith.

Section 298 of the PPC states the following:

Whoever, with deliberate intention of wounding or outraging the religious feelings of any person or inciting religious, sectarian or ethnic hatred, utters any words by using loudspeaker or sound amplifier or any other device or makes any sound in the hearing of that person or makes any gesture in the sight of that person or persons shall be punished with imprisonment of either description of a term which may extend to three years but shall not be less than one year, or with 0.5 million fine, or with both.

Clearly, Zubaeem’s companion had no intent to hurt anyone’s religious feelings, incite religious hatred, or insult Islam. Rather than trying to evoke negative reactions from listeners, the speech sought to help listeners consider Christianity. The statements were made to help, not harm, the hearers. Furthermore, instead of being insulting to Islam, the statements were simply expressions of the Christian faith.

Finally, Section 34 of the PPC holds that each defendant in a criminal conspiracy is equally liable for the crime.

Notably, while Pakistan has strict blasphemy laws, it does not prohibit expressing one’s faith or street preaching. In fact, freedom of religion and freedom of speech are protected by the Constitution of Pakistan. Article 20 states: “Subject to law, public order and morality, . . . every citizen shall have the right to profess, practice and propagate his religion.” Taken together, it is clear that the charges mentioned above aim not to punish criminal action, but to deprive five youths of their ability to publicly talk about Christianity.

The similarity of Zubaeem’s case to what is occurring in U.S. cities is striking. Public forums have traditionally been places for the exchange and dissemination of ideas, but it is becoming increasingly common to see charges against citizens for using those forums when others disagree with the messages being expressed.

The ACLJ fights similar battles across America when municipalities attempt to charge preachers with violations of local ordinances for the mere act of proselytizing. In Georgia, a preacher was issued an ordinance violation charge because of a complaint about his preaching, despite having proper permits to do so. In Chicago, amplification laws have been misused repeatedly to arrest preachers. In Texas, a preacher was removed from a public forum and threatened with criminal charges for preaching.

With decades of experience litigating such cases in the U.S., we now stand with our brothers and sisters in Pakistan to protect their legally protected right to freedom of religious speech. Protecting this God-given right as well as legally protected Pakistani right is critical.