PUNJAB, Pakistan — Muslims in Pakistan have told 300 impoverished villagers they must either produce a Christian accused of blasphemy, leave the area, convert to Islam or be killed, sources said.
Imran Masih, a 28-year-old resident of a village in Punjab Province’s Mandi Bahauddin District, was accused April 19 of keeping a “blasphemous” video clip on his cell phone.
Tensions flared after a local Islamist outfit issued a “fatwa” or “Islamic edict,” against Masih and sanctioned his killing. Masih, a sweeper at a rural health center in nearby Bosaal, and his family have since fled the village. Some 44 Christian families are now left at the mercy of the 2,000-plus Muslim population, which has imposed a social boycott on the community after police thwarted an attempt to burn down their homes May 6.
(MS)
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