Thank you for all those who prayed with us for Christian couple, Shaukat and Kiran, who were taken into custody on charges of being irreverent and desecrating a religious book. Click here to find out more: https://gosheninternational.org/pakistan-christian-parents-detained-and-charged-for-being-irreverent/
In September 2023, a man filed a report against the Christian couple when he noticed pages of a religious book falling from the rooftop of the couple’s home. Upon investigation, a bag of loose papers was found on the rooftop which Kiran said was given to her by her employer to sell to a scrap vendor. She explained further that her children may have unintentionally thrown some of the pages down without realizing their significance.
The couple was subsequently taken into custody leaving their children without parental supervision.
On 18th October, the Christian couple appeared before a local court where their defense lawyer argued that the couple were not at home at the time of the offense. And the pages found were taken from a grade nine school book. But because the couple’s three young children do not attend school, so they could not have torn the pages from the school book.
Due to a lack of evidence, the couple have since been released on bail pending a more extensive investigation. Shaukat said, “We have been away from our children for over a month and each day in prison was spent thinking what would become of them if we couldn’t get out.”
Even though the couple has been freed, they do not feel safe returning to the home that was initially provided for by their employer.
Pray that all charges against them will be dropped so that they can look after their children and resume their daily lives without any fear of further legal troubles of harassment from members of the community. Pray that the Lord will provide for this family and give them a safe place to live and work.
(Source & Photo: VOMC)
#Persecuted Church
