300 Christian Homes, 25 Churches and Thousands of Holy Bibles Burnt by Muslims
On August 16, 2023, just days after celebrating Pakistan Independence Day, the Christian community in the Jaranwala area of Faisalabad saw their world turn upside down when angry mobs rampaged through their community, torching Churches, houses, and even holy books.
August 16, 2023 – It was supposed to be an ordinary night. Mothers tucked their children into bed, fathers returned home from work, and prayers echoed softly from the churches of Jaranwala. But within hours, their world turned into a nightmare.
A mob of thousands of enraged Muslim men, armed with fire and fury, stormed the Christian neighborhoods. They didn’t just come to vandalize; they came to destroy, to burn, to kill. Christian homes, 300 in total, were set ablaze. 25 churches the very places where the community found solace, were reduced to ashes. Holy Bibles, the sacred Word of God, were desecrated and burnt.
As the mob charged forward like a relentless storm, Christian women clutched their infants and ran for their lives. Barefoot and desperate, they ran through the dark streets with the flames of their burning homes lighting their path. Their only goal: to escape death. But the mob chased them. The men shouted, jeered, and ran behind them with murderous intent. Some women fell, their children wailing in terror. Some screamed as they saw their houses turn to smoke behind them. Others had no time to cry, only to run.
With nowhere else to go, many families hid in the vast crop fields, trembling under the night sky. The tall grass became their shelter, the earth their only refuge. They lay there, holding their crying babies close, praying the mob wouldn’t find them.
Hour after hour passed. The heat of the day turned to the cold of the night. They had no food. No water. No blankets to shield their children from the night air. They simply waited. Waited for the nightmare to end.
And when morning came, they returned, only to find ruins. The homes they had built with years of hard work were nothing but blackened walls. Their furniture, clothes, and cherished belongings—all gone. Their churches, where they once worshipped in peace, stood as burnt skeletons of what once was the place to joy and peace.
Among the destruction, a young boy, still dressed in his Pakistani national attire, sat beside his weeping mother. He wiped her tears, though he himself had no words, no understanding of why their world had collapsed overnight.
Kaleem Shahzad, founder of Holy Light Foundation states that this is not just an attack, this is genocide. This is an attempt to erase Christians from Pakistan, a country they helped build, a land they have called home for centuries, even before the creation of Pakistan.
Christians in Pakistan do not fight wars, do not take up arms, and do not attack the Pakistani Army—unlike Pakistani Baloch muslimnseparatists who wage war against Pakistan, Kashmiri muslim militants who fight the Indian Army, or Palestinian muslim groups engaged in conflict with the IDF. These groups receive global support from fellow Muslims, Islamic countries, governments, and even Western organizations and westren christian churches help millions of muslim refugees. They empower these muslims in their lands, with scholarships, cultural exchange programs, financial assistance for businesses, etc. Trillions of dollars are poured into their causes.
But who stands for the Christians of Pakistan? Who speaks for those burned alive, hunted, and forced to flee like criminals—simply for their faith? Where is the justice? Where is the outcry?
A Call to the Global Christian Community
We ask “how long will the world remain silent? How long will the international Christian community, churches, and leaders turn away, arranging just prayer events, while their own brothers and sisters in faith are being slaughtered?
The Holy Light Foundation pleads with the global Christian family: do not abandon us. Raise your voices. Empower Pakistani Christians. Help us rebuild. Help us survive. This is not just a tragedy—this is a call to action. Stand with us. Stand with persecuted Christians in Pakistan. Before it is too late.
A History of Sacrifice and Neglect
Christians have contributed immensely to the land we now call Pakistan. Yet, despite their service and sacrifices, Pakistani Christians have suffered for decades, persecuted, silenced, and forgotten. While Muslim communities worldwide unite to support their own, Western Christians, churches, and governments extend their aid to muslim groups, but not their own brothers and sisters in Christ. Have they forgotten the words of Jesus?
“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:40)
Western Christians stand for many causes—for the oppressed in Gaza, Kashmir, and Balochistan—yet they turn away from their own family in faith, who are being slaughtered for Christ’s name. This silence must end. Now is the time to act. Now is the time to stand.