Christians here are attacked, killed and imprisoned — but we are transforming our community with compassion

Born into a low-caste family in a region where Christians are treated as sub-human, Dr Amir shares how faith, love, and practical compassion are transforming communities and growing the Church in Pakistan — one of the most challenging places in the world to be a Christian

I am a Christian who loves Jesus Christ deeply. He is not only my saviour but the reason I live. I follow a faith that teaches love and forgiveness — I could never hurt anyone for what they believe, but I am willing to die for what I believe. In my country, this isn’t just a poetic statement — it’s a daily reality. 

I was born in a region between the Middle East and South Asia, a place where Christians are a small, persecuted minority. I didn’t choose this place, but I know God placed me here for his purpose. Though it has been painful, I thank him. I have seen his faithfulness in ways I never could have imagined. 

A legacy of discrimination 

My family comes from a low-caste Hindu background. We were considered “untouchables.” When my great-grandparents accepted Jesus through American missionaries, their souls were redeemed, but their social status didn’t change. Whether under Hindus before 1947 or Muslims afterward, Christians were treated as less than human. 

I grew up poor. My father was a labourer who worked like a bond servant for Muslim landlords. I went to public school, where I was forced to recite Islamic prayers. We couldn’t even drink from the same cups as Muslims — we were made to feel dirty and unwanted. I saw my father and grandfather humiliated like this. I lived it too.