Christian World | ACW | October 28, 2026 — Peter Bhatti, brother of Pakistan's former Minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti, told the Catholic outlet Crux: "Christians of Pakistan continue living under constant threat from extremism."

The interview was published on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. According to Crux, Bhatti, who founded an organisation in Canada inspired by his brother, was invited by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) and spoke ahead of the charity's new report.

Bhatti said Christians fear Pakistan's blasphemy laws, which he called discriminatory. He also described the abduction of Christian and Hindu girls: "They abduct that girl, then they rape her, and then to cover the crime, they marry her and convert her to Islam."

He said a new constitutional court applies Sharia in such cases and that "any woman who converts to Islam, regardless of why, gets accepted," even when she is a minor. He cited a recent case in which the court ruled for the man accused of abduction, and a 14-year-old girl remains with him and his family.

No response from Pakistani officials appears in published reports.

Shahbaz Bhatti, the only Christian in Pakistan's cabinet, served as Minister for Minorities from 2008 until he was shot dead in 2011. He had called for reform of the blasphemy laws. ACN's report "Persecuted and Forgotten?" says conditions for Christians worsened in 10 of the 18 countries it examined, including Pakistan. ACW reported on the report earlier: <a href="https://acwnews.org/en/news/a876e6">ACN report: conditions for Christians worsened in 55% of countries</a>.

Why it matters: blasphemy laws and the forced conversion of girls are the two main threats to freedom of religion or belief for Pakistan's Christians, in a country that also hosts many Afghan refugees, including Christian converts.

ACW will continue to follow this story.

Source: Crux