Stephen Cook (via Sean) has an update for Rashid & Sajid Emmanuel.

I have just received some terrible news. We are in deep shock here.

It has been confirmed that Pastor Rashid and his younger brother Sajid were attacked and killed by Mullahs in during a Court appearance this morning. From the account I’ve received so far it seems they were gunned down by Muslim fanatics in the area of the court. They both received several bullet wounds and were taken to hospital, but their deaths have been confirmed.

Everyone is obviously deeply distressed.

Apparently this atrocity occurred about 2.00PM Pakistan time, which was 7.00PM Sydney time and 5.00am Atlanta time.

The Police deemed another Court appearance necessary to get a Magistrate’s approval to release them. They must have been aware of the dangers involved in doing this, and the fact that they had inadequate security suggests to me that this may have been a set-up.

The gunmen apparently escaped into the crowd and there have been no arrests so far.

I believe there will be a special place in the Kingdom of God for those who have given their lives for their testimony of Jesus.

Please pray for their families and churches and all the Christians in the area.

-Steve

I have just been speaking with one of our Church of God Pastors in Pakistan to get the latest information on the crisis there.

Pastor Rashid and his brother Sajid have been moved by the police to an undisclosed location and they believe it is outside Faisalabad. They believe this is a good thing as it was not safe for them in the Police Station. They have been told that Rashid and Sajid are safe.

Although they have not been shown the report from the handwriting analyst they understand that the report indicated that there is no evidence that Rashid or Sajid wrote the document which is allegedly blasphemous. That means there is no case against them and this move to a safer location may be the first step in releasing them. If they were released from the Police Station their lives would be in great danger and it’s likely the Police will release them from a secret location.

So the danger is certainly not over yet but the family and other Pastors are optimistic that they will be released when things calm down a little.

They are very grateful for everyone’s prayers and all the letters and emails that have been sent to the Pakistan political leaders. Rashid and Sajid’s family is in hiding and moving from place to place. All the Christians in the district are living in fear at the moment. They are encouraging us to keep up the writing of letters to the President of Pakistan and other political leaders as this helps to keep the pressure on the police to do the right thing.

To send appeals to Pakistan’s political leaders go to the website for the Asian Human Rights Commission (http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2010/3503/) and support their appeal by sending messages to the President of Pakistan and others. This is easy to do. All you have to do is to click on “Send an appeal letter”, complete your details, edit the draft letter if you wish to, and then submit it. Your email will go the President, the Prime Minister, the Governor of Punjab, the head of the Police, and others.