The British Pakistani Christian Association (BPCA) was born from a single event – in the ashes of churches and homes razed to the ground by a horde of Islamist thugs who persecuted Pakistani followers of Jesus Christ. It happened in the city of Gojra on August 1st 2009 when a married Christian couple were wrongly accused of using torn shreds of the Koran as confetti at their wedding. This false rumour grew in popularity following a hate message preached by a local mosque. Mob violence then led to the deaths of nine innocent people, 100 destroyed homes and two churches set on fire.

This incident pinpointed the need for a body such as the BPCA to highlight the ongoing abuse of Christians in Pakistan. Believers in the country face regular persecution under a so-called, ‘Blasphemy Law’ by the wider community including a lack of employment and constitutional rights; child slavery and forced labour; the rape and forced marriages of women; the imprisonment of believers for their faith; destruction of churches and even death.