Pakistani Christian activist gets STSJ threats after Islamists falsely accuse him of blasphemy
A Pakistani Christian activist named Faraz Pervaiz, who is known for highlighting cases of religious persecution against minorities, has been getting Sarr Tann Se Juda (STSJ) threats from Islamic extremists residing in Pakistan.
Pervaiz, who has been living as a refugee in Thailand for 10 years now, spoke to OpIndia about the death threats, issued by the radical Islamist party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) on dubious charges of blasphemy.
During a telephonic conversation, the activist informed, “I and my father Pervaiz Roshan had hosted a Twitter space discussion on 14th April 2024 during which we talked about the need for Christians, especially Pakistanis, to extend support to Israel in their fight against Hamas.”
The extremists accused him of insulting Prophet Muhammad, spreading ‘hatred’ against Muslims and mocking the tenets of Islam. Soon after, Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) issued a fatwa to murder the Christian activist and his father for committing ‘blasphemy’.
The radical Islamist party also announced a reward of 20 million PKR (~ USD 72,180) for Muslims willing to travel to Thailand and murder the family of Faraz Pervaiz.
“On 26th April, I learnt that a fatwa for murder was issued by TLP. They printed the posters and pasted them in and around Christian colonies in various cities of Pakistan,” Faraz told OpIndia during the telephone conversation.
“Given that many Pakistanis believe that murder for avenging blasphemy brings shabaab (youthfulness/prime of manhood), I am scared that they would come to Thailand to kill me,” he lamented.
