ICC Note:
In the face of increasing extremism and persecution, many Pakistani Christians are fleeing Pakistan in search of refuge. Many of these Christians are seeking asylum in Sri Lanka claiming asylum based on religious persecution grounds. According to the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka, over 600 Pakistani Christians are currently seeking asylum. These asylum seekers do not have the right to work and depend on the Catholic Church for support. Unfortunately, Sri Lanka is becoming more and more religiously intolerant. With the rise of Buddhist Nationalists, many Buddhists in Sri Lanka believe religions like Christianity are foreign and have no place in Sri Lanka’s society. In 2013 alone, Christians were attacked over 65 times by Buddhists Nationalists. Please pray for Sri Lanka and the future of these Pakistani Christians.
1/8/2013 Sri Lanka/Pakistan (Colombo Gazette) – In recent years, Sri Lanka has been one of the main sources of asylum seekers arriving in Australia.
But mainly Buddhist Sri Lanka has its own asylum seeker issue – with an increasing number of Pakistani Christians arriving to claim refugee status, World News Australia Radio reported
Catholic Church leaders say Sri Lanka is now hosting more than 600 asylum seekers claiming to be victims of persecution of the minority Christian community in Muslim-majority Pakistan.
The Pakistanis are not eligible to work, and are relying on support from Sri Lankan Christians.
Catholic Church spokesman in Colombo, Father Xystus Kurukulasuriya says the Church is seeking assistance to help the Pakistan asylum seekers.
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