Government agencies and Muslim relief organizations in Pakistan have been denying aid to thousands of Christians left homeless by the recent monsoon floods, say Christian sources in the overwhelmingly Muslim nation.
Aid agencies have been delivering food, clothing, building supplies and hygiene kits in an effort to prevent outbreaks of water-borne disease as the flood waters begin to recede.
But the Pakistan Christian Congress says the afflicted Punjab region is a “hotbed” of Islamic extremist organizations that view Christians as infidels, and local officials who fear the extremists have been barring Christians from tent camps set up for flood victims.
Christians comprise about 2 percent of Pakistan’s 175 million people and have come under attack in the past from extremists who accuse them of blasphemy, CNSNews reported.
Open Doors USA President Carl Moeller, whose organization has been working in Pakistan, said: “The only place with aid for many is their local mosque, which places Christians in an extremely vulnerable situation. Some are flatly denied assistance while others are told to vacate the region or convert to Islam. Imagine giving up your faith in order to feed your starving children.”
Anglican Bishop Humphrey Peters of Peshawar in Pakistan said: “We are sure that some countries will come forward with aid packages, but hardly anything will reach the minority Christians.”
Christian organizations are urging Christians around the world to send aid to groups that will help Christians or at least ensure that they are not left out of aid distribution.
Pakistan Christian Congress President Nazir Bhatti said governments and organizations can distribute some of their aid to Christians through groups such as the Catholic aid agency Caritas or the Catholic Bishops’ Conference.
Bishop Peters’ diocese has already set up four relief camps for hundreds of flood-stricken Christians and members of the Hindu minority, according to CNSNews.
Meanwhile criticism of aid efforts is coming from non-Christian sources as well. The Lahore-based Daily Times said in a recent editorial: “Reports about systematic discrimination in aid distribution are utterly disgraceful. If we want to progress as a nation, we need to close the doors on our prejudices. For far too long we have let religious bigots call the shots.”
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