Pakistani Christians stage protest in New York

Pakistani Christians stage protest in New York

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Ganesh S. Lakshman

Christians from Pakistan, who comprise about three percent of the population, staged a demonstration outside the United Nations office in New York on Oct. 10 in protest against repression of the community by successive Pakistani governments, including the present Musharraf regime.

Shouting let Christians in Pakistan live, the protesters, numbering about 50, held a three-hour demonstration outside U.N. Plaza on the corner of 1st Avenue and 47th street. They submitted a memorandum to U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan seeking his intervention and were scheduled to march to the Pakistani Consulate and submit a similar memorandum. The protest was held by VIRSA (Valuable Inherited Religious and Social Attributes), a nonprofit organization of Pakistani-American Christians of New York, and several other groups.

Victor Gill, chairman of the Philadelphia-based Christian Voice of Pakistan, charged that until last year, two to three Christians were killed every year. But this year, 36 Christians have been killed and over 100 injured. We are being exclusively targeted for revenge for September 11th after-effects. We want protection and equal rights. While one government took away our institutions, another gave us the Blasphemy Law.

2002-10-18

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Pakistani Christians stage protest in New York

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2002-10-18