Even on Death Row for Their Faith, Christians Form Bible Study – An Update From Pakistan

As you know, the ACLJ has been working in Pakistan through its affiliate, the Organization for Legal Aid (OLA), for the last 14 years. I recently had the privilege of visiting our office, meeting with our staff and clients, praying with them, and working with our team.

In our blogs, we have talked about Shahzad Masih and Amoon Ayub, two clients who are on death row due to false blasphemy claims. This visit showed me once again how the Lord uses even bad circumstances for His glory.

Shahzad, who was 16 when he was arrested under false charges of committing blasphemy against Islam, was confined in a prison near his hometown while facing a trial that took five years. Amoon was in a different prison for the last nine years, going through a trial and then an appeal at the High Court.

After Shahzad’s conviction in November 2022, he was transferred to the same prison where Amoon is confined along with his brother Qaiser, who is represented by another organization. Through Amoon and Shahzad, we met another Christian prisoner, Ahsan Masih, who was also arrested recently under false blasphemy charges. I will write about Ahsan’s case separately; but for now, I’d like to share how God has brought these four men together in the same prison and how He is working in their lives.

While Shahzad was in the other prison, he was not able to fellowship with other believers. But here, Amoon, Qaiser, Shahzad, and Ahsan read the Bible and pray together every morning. While Shahzad and Ahsan are not educated, Amoon is an educated man and a musician who taught music before he was arrested. The prison psychologist recently obtained approval for Amoon to have a flute. When I heard that Shahzad was transferred to this prison, I sent a message to Amoon through his wife (who has been visiting him once a week for the last nine years) that I wanted Amoon to teach Shahzad about God’s Word. I was pleased to see that he is doing just that.

Yes, these men are still in prison, but the Lord is not letting even that go to waste!

In most prisons, the families of the prisoners can deposit money for the prisoners to buy things from the prison store. One prisoner is usually assigned for the entire block to make a list of things each prisoner wants, go to the store, fetch the things, and then distribute them among the prisoners. The prisoner who had been doing this was stealing and taking things by force from other prisoners. This responsibility was recently given to Shahzad, who everyone knows is a Christian, and he is doing his duty faithfully and honestly, shining Christ’s light in this dark prison.

I also met with the families and attorneys of Shahzad, Amoon, and Ahsan to discuss the cases with them. We then met with some officials and made plans on how to proceed.

Another pleasant discovery during this visit was that the government is making improvements in the police department. In the past, allegations of corruption and mistreatment of people by police officers were common. I met with police officials and learned about the education and training programs the government has put in place for the police. Police stations are being renovated, advanced computer technology is being installed, and liaison officials are being appointed to deal with the public. The government has also started volunteer/internship programs to allow students from different universities to work with police officials, something previously unheard of in Pakistan.

This is a good start, but much more needs to be done. The atmosphere of intolerance toward minorities is still rampant. False blasphemy accusations are still being made. Innocent individuals are still going to prison.

I met with the family of another new client, Intizar Masih. This young man has a pregnant wife, a 10-year-old daughter, and an 8-year-old son. This beautiful family now has no one to provide for them because Intizar is in prison. He has been accused of joining a WhatsApp chat group in which people allegedly posted sacrilegious material. Intizar’s wife was in tears when she told me she would be giving birth, this time without her husband. Yet it was encouraging to hear that while Intizar is in prison, the body of Christ is standing with his wife and children. A family in the U.S. is partnering with us to provide for them while we fight for Intizar in the courts.

As we ramp up our efforts to help these families, please pray for a breakthrough in all of these cases.