Pakistan is blighted by sectarian attacks by Sunni Islamists against the Shia and other minority communities like Christians and Hindus also suffer from militant attacks. At the same time, institutional discrimination is also a major problem for non-Muslims. Therefore, the recent report circulating from Islamabad about a Christian family being held at gunpoint and under the threat of forced conversion by militants is extremely worrying. The Christian Post reports that “Local police official Abdul Ghafoor reported that the men, all in their 30′s, had broken into the home of a large Christian family and tortured them, forcing them to convert to Islam at gunpoint. The family members tortured by the men were allegedly related to the recently deceased Boota Masih, a 58-year-old gold scavenger who was attacked and stabbed in the Karachi’s Liaquatabad Gold Market earlier in September. Masih had been accused of blasphemy against the prophet Mohammed, and his throat was allegedly slit by a Muslim extremist as policemen and security guards looked on.” It is reported that the police in Islamabad have arrested three Muslims in connection with the attack. However, often the institutions in Pakistan don’t do enough to stem the tide of religious persecution in this country. Not surprisingly, the Christian family targeted is now residing in fear and obviously this will spread throughout the local Christian community. After all, Islamists want to rule by fear therefore with such weak institutions to deal with the ongoing crisis, the situation is critical. Also, many militants believe they can attack minorities openly because of the lack of transparency within the legal system. Sadly, the Masih family who reside in the Khokhar Town area fear future attacks against them. In a sense, while terrorist attacks against minority Muslims and non-Muslims hog the headlines because of the numbers killed; it is daily persecution like this case which is setting off alarm bells. This applies to natural intimidation which is taking place throughout various walks of life. It is essential for the international community to put more pressure on Pakistan to do more to help all religious minorities. Likewise, secular forces and progressive forces within all faith groups must do more to challenge the Islamist agenda in Pakistan. http://www.christianpost.com/news/three-pakistani-men-arrested-for-forcing-christian-family-to-convert-to-islam-at-gunpoint-106386/ leejay@moderntokyotimes.com http://moderntokyotimes.com