“We constructed three floors of minarets on a church and fixed the cross on top of that,” Barnabas, a Christian resident of the village stated in a video uploaded on social media. “However, the cross was removed after we received threats from local Muslims.”

“The Muslims demanded we remove the cross and all three floors of the minarets,” Barnabus continued. “Therefore, we had to obey them. Now, the building does not look like a church. It’s just a room and therefore we are sad.”

“We agreed to the demands with broken hearts,” Pastor Ilyas, a local pastor, reported. “Although it was an illegal demand against Pakistan’s constitution, which guarantees religious freedom to all citizens. The authorities must look into this matter and ensure freedom of religion to all the segments of society.”

“We will fix a cross on the church wall,” Pastor Ilyas continued. “We took this decision for the safety and protection of Christians in the village. Muslims threatened that if we don’t remove the cross, they will ban the prayer services and take the church property.”

Original article: ICC