Bashiran Bibi forced to live alone since her son Aftab Gill was accused of blasphemy
Their house is near a local mosque and, like many other local people, they regularly drew water from the water tap outside the mosque as no other
clean water mechanism is available in the community. The water was paid for as per the Mosque policy.
Adnan (5 years) to convert to Islam, but they refused. On the same day, whilst Aftab was taking water from the water tap at the local mosque, the same
man shouted at Aftab and said:
Otherwise evil infidels defile our water taps.”
A few days later Zain Shah arrived with other Muslim men and again demanded the sons to convert to Islam. They slapped Gill’s eldest son Akash who
refused to convert and at that point Aftab replied to the men, saying:
an FIR against the Muslim aggravators. Two hours later Zain and his brother visited their home accompanied by a mob of about 200 men
ready to lynch the family. Thankfully a local called the police who dispersed the crowd before any violence occurred.
Later that day a few elders from the Christian community asked police officials to accompany them with Aftab so they could meet with the local cleric
to resolve the issue. Despite the general perception that local Muslim clerics deliver hate speeches in the mosque, this local chief priest (Molvi)
was refreshingly not of the same mind set. He assured the terrified Christian family that he would not allow the situation to escalate, but advised
that Aftab needed to leave the village for the sake of his own and his family’s future, believing this also would reduce tension in the community.
Since then Aftab and his family have moved away from the area, leaving Aftab’s distraught mother Bashiran Bibi living alone in the former family
home. She said:
but could erupt again at any time as no separate safe drinking water facility exists for the Christians, requiring them to also use the Mosque
tap. The BPCA would like to install a clean water pump in the area for this hard-pressed community and simply need to raise £750 for the installation.
We hope to install it in the local church whereby it can become a beacon of hope for our suffering minority.
when I was living in Rawalpindi and we had a rented house near a mosque. Normally during hot summers, water levels dropped and we faced a shortage
of water. People used to collect water from the nearby mosque, paying them a small fee. I was forced to do the same and we happily paid our
contribution until one day the cleric came to know that we are from the Christian faith. Immediately the local cleric stopped us from taking water
from the mosque which caused us great difficulty.”
the stressful and painful reality of being forced to leave their home due to persecution. We
would like to help them with six months rent which totals £600 and by providing food for 6 months,
which is £240. We hope that through the generosity of our donors we can illustrate the love of God
to this hurting family.
Payee: BPCA
Sort Code: 20-44-22
Account number: 43163318
Bank: Barclays
Ref: Love for Aftab Gill
For international donations please use these details:
IBAN: GB62 BARC 20442243163318
SWIFTBIC: BARCGB22
Alternatively you can use the PayPal facility on the top right hand corner of our blog, our PayPal email address is info@britishpakistanichristians.org.
Cheques should be made payable to the BPCA to our address: 57 Green Lane, Ilford, Essex, IG1 1XG.
BRITISH PAKISTANI CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION is a trading name for BRITISH PAKISTANI CHRISTIANS LTD which is a charity entered onto the Register of Charities with the Registered Charity Number 1163363
Thank you.
With your support we hope to change the lives of millions of Pakistani Christians.