Saturday, May 27, 2006

Pakistani Christian Children Sold as slaves, says Christian Persecution watchdog group

Children between the ages of 6 and 12 are being sold as slaves to fund Islamic militants. Gul Khan, the militant Islamic organization, is said to have abducted children from Christian villages in the Punjab, keeping them in deplorable conditions, and said to have been selling them into sex trade or domestic servitude for $1,700 a piece.

According to Barnabas Fund, the children are beaten savagely, only fed once a day and ordered not to talk, play or pray.

The group reported that two Christian missionaries – one Pakistani, the other American – helped expose the slave trafficking after seeing photographs of boys for sale on the black market in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province.

The evidence against Khan is very overwhelming, but the police say that the organization has too much power for them to tackle. So far, there has been no investigation.

“The situation is exacerbated by issues of caste and poverty. It is in this context that such horrors can take place,” said Sookhdeo. “I am encouraged that the police did make some efforts in this case, but, as so often happens, they appear now to be intimidated themselves by the weight of the whole Islamist movement in Pakistan. I pray that the exposure of this slave trade to the international community will help bring an end to it.”
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