Earlier this month the Christians of Charsadda in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province (NWFP) were given a 17 May deadline to convert to Islam or suffer the consequences.  That deadline came and went without incident, but now the ultimatum has been renewed.  The former threat was delivered in a hand-written, unsigned letter sent to several Christian families; this time it appeared on a wall facing one of the town’s two churches.

"We as members of the Christian community are very much concerned about our safety and security," Shambaz Bhatti, president of the All-Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA), a local advocacy group for religious freedom and other human rights in Pakistan, said on Monday.

"Islamic extremism is on the rise in Pakistan," Bhatti said.

Indeed, and more so in NWFP than other parts of the country.

Charsadda’s Christians were defiant in response to the earlier threat, saying they would not deny Christ even when faced with death.  There is no indication that their resolve has weakened since then. 

The latest ultimatum was issued five days ago by a group calling itself "Taliban Detonation Department".

APMA places blame for the current situation on the extremist policies of the country's Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) political party, formed after Pakistan became part of the "Global War on Terror", and the party governing NWFP.

"These were the people that opposed the women's protection bill, as well as the same people who presented bills calling for the death sentence for anyone found guilty of converting to religions other than Islam," Bhatti said.

Militants in the same area have launched heavy-handed campaigns against grooming men’s beards, listening to music, parachute jumping, and other “unIslamic” activities.

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