![\"Ashbeel](\"https:\/\/morningstarnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Ashbeel-Ghauri-2nd-from-right-with-lawyers-and-parents-on-March-14-2024.-Christian-Daily-International-Morning-Star-News.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nAshbeel Ghauri (2nd from right) with lawyers and parents on March 14, 2024. (Christian Daily International-Morning Star News)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
LAHORE<\/strong>, Pakistan<\/strong>\u00a0(Christian Daily International<\/a>\u2013<\/em>Morning Star News<\/a>) \u2013 An 18-year-old Christian charged with blasphemy was released on bail on Thursday (March 14), saying his faith sustained him during a week of solitary confinement.<\/p>\n Ashbeel Ghauri was arrested on March 6 after a former classmate, Muslim Sheraz Gulistan, accused him of blaspheming<\/a> Islam in a WhatsApp discussion group in January. He was charged under Section 295-A of Pakistan\u2019s blasphemy statutes pertaining to hurting religious sentiments, punishable by up to 10 years in prison or a fine, or both.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI had no idea then that defending my Christian faith against constant intimidation by my former classmates to convert to Islam would be used to persecute me,\u201d Ghauri told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News after his release from Attock District Jail on Thursday evening (March 14). \u201cI did not say anything derogatory about the Islamic faith during the discussions, but I did ask questions which obviously antagonized the Muslim participants.\u201d<\/p>\n Ghauri, who described himself as an introvert, said most of his time in jail was spent studying the Bible and other religious literature and praying.<\/p>\n \u201cI love Jesus Christ, and I take pride in my Christian faith, but I did not like it when Sheraz and others would raise questions on Christ\u2019s life,\u201d he said. \u201cMy interest in studying different religions, including Islam, has given me some knowledge to respond to criticism against Christianity with academic references.\u201d<\/p>\n Ghauri said discussions started heating up after war broke out between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip last October.<\/p>\n \u201cSheraz used to curse Israel whenever he used to bring up the topic,\u201d he said. \u201cI was naturally offended by his curse words against God\u2019s chosen people, so I used to snub him. I think this too angered him.\u201d<\/p>\n The Christian said he was taken to Attock jail on judicial remand on March 7. Police did not harm him while he was in their custody for a night.<\/p>\n \u201cExcept for one constable, the attitudes of all the other policemen were fine,\u201d Ghauri said. \u201cWhen I was being taken to the magistrate\u2019s court for seeking my judicial remand, that constable locked the handcuff on my wrist so tightly that it hurt me. When I complained about the pain, the constable said he would have tightened the handcuff even more because of the allegation against me.\u201d<\/p>\n Prison officials did not keep him in the barrack where all other blasphemy suspects are housed, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI was locked up in a small room all alone. My time there was spent praying and reading the Bible, and I fasted for three days. One particular verse that kept me strong was God\u2019s promise to Joshua where he says, \u2018As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.\u2019\u201d (Joshua 1:5)<\/p>\n The youth, who plans to pursue a career in computer sciences, said he missed his younger brother while incarcerated.<\/p>\n \u201cI missed my parents greatly, but I missed my younger brother the most. He\u2019s not just my brother but also my best friend,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery day I used to recall how he would ask me to play football and other games with him. I\u2019m very happy that God has enabled me to reunite with my family.\u201d<\/p>\n Ghauri said his time in jail, where blasphemy suspects are often kept for months or years awaiting trial outcomes, had strengthened his Christian faith.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d say that I\u2019ve also become more wise and patient after this incident. I don\u2019t know when I\u2019ll be completely free from this case, but it has reaffirmed my faith that Christ is truly my Savior,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Beaming with joy, his father Babar Ghauri said that they were on edge regarding his bail petition.<\/p>\n \u201cThough we kept our faith that God will rescue Ashbeel, we were still concerned about the outcome given the fact that bails in blasphemy cases are not an easy thing even if the charge is a bailable offense,\u201d he told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. \u201cWe are all very happy and grateful to God for His grace on us. We are also thankful to the Christian lawyers who travelled from Lahore to Attock to give us legal support.\u201d<\/p>\n The Christian shared that on the day of his son\u2019s arrest, police told him to relocate his family to a relative\u2019s house until Islamist fury subsided.<\/p>\n \u201cI was told that there could be some security issues for us, so it was better to leave our house for some days. Even today when we went to the prison to bring Ashbeel, the authorities told us to take the car inside the jail [compound] and discreetly transport him out.\u201d<\/p>\n Babar Ghauri said concerns about his family\u2019s security would remain until his son is acquitted.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are just praying and hoping that he is able to resume his education soon without any fear of being harmed again,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The family\u2019s lawyer, Nadeem Hassan, said Attock Judicial Magistrate Syed Naseer Abbas had granted bail to Ashbeel against surety bonds amounting to 100,000 rupees (US$358).<\/p>\n \u201cThe trial will begin after the police submit the complete challan<\/em> (chargesheet) in court, so we don\u2019t know yet how much time it will take to win Ashbeel\u2019s acquittal,\u201d Hassan told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News.<\/p>\n Hassan, of the Christians True Spirit legal aid group, said that there were security concerns for the family.<\/p>\n \u201cAshbeel\u2019s surety bonds were submitted by a Muslim man who is a very close friend of Babar Ghauri,\u201d Hassan said. \u201cThat man has been with the family from the onset of the case, but today after he submitted the documents of his property as surety in court, he received threat calls from unidentified people.\u201d<\/p>\n At least 329 persons were accused of blasphemy under the controversial law in 2023, according to the Center for Social Justice (CSJ), an advocacy group based in Lahore. Among those accused, 247 were Muslims, 65 were Ahmadis, 11 were Christians and one was Hindu, while the religious affiliation of five others was unknown.<\/p>\n It added that seven persons accused of blasphemy were killed extra-judicially in 2023, including four in Punjab Province and one each in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Azad Jammu Kashmir provinces.<\/p>\n Pakistan ranked seventh on Open Doors\u2019 2024 World Watch List of the most difficult places to be a Christian, as it was the previous year.<\/p>\n If you would like to help persecuted Christians, visit\u00a0<\/em>https:\/\/morningstarnews.org\/resources\/aid-agencies\/<\/em><\/a>\u00a0for a list of organizations that can orient you on how to get involved. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n If you or your organization would like to help enable Morning Star News to continue raising awareness of persecuted Christians worldwide with original-content reporting, please consider collaborating at\u00a0<\/em>https:\/\/morningstarnews.org\/donate\/<\/em><\/a>?<\/em><\/p>\n ###<\/p>\n \u00a9 2024 Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. 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