Global News - Redeem the Oppressed

Afghanistan: Christian Persecution On The Rise, USCIRF raises concerns

A recent report released by the US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), has detailed that the Christians in Afghanistan are at a great risk. In the face of religion-based persecution that comes at the Afghani Christians in various forms, the USCIRF has recommended that the US Government designate Afghanistan a “Country of Particular Concern”.

In this report that was released on April 25, 2022, it was stated, that  the “Christian converts, practice their faith in hiding due to fear of reprisal and threats from the Taliban and separately from the Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISIS-K).” Since the takeover of the country by Taliban, the threat to the Christians has escalated who are considered the apostates.

It was reported that the Taliban militants are desperately hunting down the Christians as they went from door-to-door searching for Christians. “Christians have received threatening phone calls and one leader of a house church network received a threatening letter in August from Taliban militants. Some Christians have turned off their phones and moved to undisclosed locations,” the USCIRF report said.

The Taliban are hunting for Christians in order to force them to re-convert, leave the country or else face death. Afghan Christians are constantly facing danger of violence and death at the hands of the Taliban and other religious extremist outfits. In the wake of the Taliban takeover, Afghanistan has emerged as hotbed of Christian persecution. Therefore, dozens of Afghani Christians are leaving their homeland seeking safe – haven in Pakistan and other countries.

By Farrukh Saif

Farrukh Saif is a Pakistani human rights activist based in Germany. He founded his own organization, the Farrukh Saif Foundation (FSF), in 2009 with the goal of supporting marginalized and oppressed minorities in Pakistan who are affected by religious discrimination, blasphemy laws, forced conversions, abductions, rape, and bonded slavery. The main focus of the FSF is on the liberation of bonded laborers, particularly those working in brick kilns in rural areas of Pakistan. In 2018, the FSF merged with the US-based Emergency Committee to Save the Persecuted and Enslaved. Throughout his career, Farrukh has been a leading voice for the rights of minorities in Pakistan and has gained international attention for his campaigns against the misuse of blasphemy laws and the belief that asylum is not a crime. In 2014, he played a key role in the release of hundreds of asylum seekers from Thai jails and has worked with his legal team to save numerous victims of strict blasphemy laws in Pakistan. Farrukh has also been invited by the Hungarian government to discuss his work and the issues he addresses. In addition to his work with the FSF, Farrukh has also been involved in various other humanitarian efforts, including providing health care services to internally displaced persons in Khayber Pakhtoon Khawa in 2009 and assisting flood victims in Sindh and Punjab in 2010. He has worked to aid victimized minorities in Pakistan and has a strong track record of successfully advocating for their rights. Farrukh joined forces with Keith Davies in 2018 to co-found the Emergency Committee to Save The Persecuted and Enslaved, and since 2009, they have collectively successfully rescued more than 36000 individuals from slavery and persecution.