Pakistan Christian Journalists Forum
A Christian welfare, media awareness, education, and community development organization. Founded in 2010 under the leadership of Saleem Iqbal.
The Pakistan Christian Journalists Forum (PCJF) was founded in 2010 under the leadership of Saleem Iqbal, a Christian journalist who has served the Christian community of Pakistan for more than 35 years. The Forum brings together Christian journalists in Pakistan to report, accurately and by the law, the cases that the community faces: Christian persecution, forced conversion and blasphemy accusations.
What the Forum is
PCJF is a Christian welfare, media awareness, education and community development organisation. It is non-political and non-profit, it belongs to no party and no single church, and it works within the laws of Pakistan. Its members are working journalists, students of journalism and media workers from the Christian community.
The Forum's desk records every case reported to it with the date, the place, the police station and the court, verifies it with a second source, and publishes what can be published without endangering anyone. Its reports are read by lawyers, courts, the press and the international organisations that follow Christian minority rights in Pakistan.
The Christian community of Pakistan
- Families facing a blasphemy accusation, an abduction or an attack, who need their case recorded and reported
- Christian girls and their parents in forced conversion and child-marriage cases
- Brick-kiln workers, sanitary workers and other Christian workers facing bonded labour and discrimination
- Churches and pastors who need a journalist to call before the crowd and before the certificate
- Young Christian journalists, students and media workers who need training, mentorship and colleagues
- Lawyers, courts and the press who need accurate, dated, verified case files
A journalist on the ground
The Forum's journalists work where the cases are: at the police station where a first information report is registered, at the court where the hearing is held, in the street where a family tells what happened. Founding President Saleem Iqbal has led this work himself for more than 35 years, and it is the reason the Forum's case files carry the detail that lawyers and courts need.
Protecting the people in the story
The Forum protects the people in its stories. Minors are never named and their faces are never shown; families in hiding are never located; accused persons are described by what the police record and the court say. The photograph here, from a child-marriage and forced-conversion case, is shown with the child's identity protected.
The sixteen aims and objectives of the Forum
The Pakistan Christian Journalists Forum was founded with the following aims and objectives, as adopted by its founding members in 2010.
- To promote unity, cooperation, harmony, and mutual understanding among Christian journalists, churches, ministries, and Christian communities in Pakistan.
- To encourage ethical, responsible, educational, and constructive journalism for the betterment of society and the Christian community.
- To work for the welfare, social uplift, and empowerment of underprivileged Christians and marginalized communities through awareness programs, educational activities, and humanitarian support.
- To organize seminars, workshops, conferences, media training programs, and educational activities for the professional development of Christian journalists and youth.
- To support Christian students, young writers, media workers, and communication professionals through mentorship, education, and skill development programs.
- To promote peace, interfaith harmony, tolerance, human dignity, and respect among all communities in Pakistan.
- To encourage positive community engagement through social welfare campaigns, relief activities, charity programs, and humanitarian services.
- To assist deserving families, widows, orphans, poor children, and needy individuals through lawful welfare and charitable activities.
- To cooperate with churches, Christian organizations, educational institutions, and welfare bodies for community development and public benefit projects.
- To raise awareness regarding education, health, social responsibility, family values, youth development, and moral ethics within society.
- To encourage lawful freedom of expression, responsible communication, and positive use of media for educational and welfare purposes.
- To publish newsletters, educational materials, research papers, magazines, and media content for awareness, education, and community development.
- To promote volunteerism and community service among Christian youth and media professionals.
- To work for the protection of fundamental human dignity, equal citizenship, and peaceful coexistence in accordance with the Constitution and laws of Pakistan.
- To establish welfare projects including educational assistance, training centers, media resource centers, relief activities, and community support initiatives for public benefit.
- To remain a non-political, non-profit, charitable, educational, and welfare organization working within the laws of Pakistan.
Under the leadership of Saleem Iqbal
The Founding President founded the Forum in 2010 after more than two decades of reporting for the Christian community and leads it today as its CEO. His page describes his work on Christian persecution, forced conversion and blasphemy cases, and carries his public statements.
About the Pakistan Christian Journalists Forum
What is the Pakistan Christian Journalists Forum (PCJF)?
The Pakistan Christian Journalists Forum is a Christian welfare, media awareness, education and community development organisation founded in 2010 under the leadership of Saleem Iqbal. Its members are Christian journalists in Pakistan who report Christian persecution, forced conversion and blasphemy cases and serve the Christian community through journalism.
Who is the Founding President of PCJF?
Saleem Iqbal is the Founding President and CEO of the Pakistan Christian Journalists Forum. A Christian journalist serving the Christian community of Pakistan for more than 35 years, he is described as the most bold Christian journalist in Pakistan and leads the Forum since its founding in 2010.
What does PCJF report?
Cases of Christian persecution in Pakistan: forced conversion of Christian girls, blasphemy accusations against Christians, attacks on churches and homes, bonded labour and discrimination. Every case is written by the law: what happened, what the law says and what the courts did.
How do I report a case to PCJF?
Through the Report a Case page. Tell the Forum what happened, where and when, who was involved and attach any evidence. Reports are confidential; the identity of victims, especially minors, is protected.
Who can join PCJF?
Christian journalists in Pakistan, students of journalism and media workers who share the aims of the Forum. The Join PCJF page has the membership and media-training application.
Report a case. Join the Forum.
The Pakistan Christian Journalists Forum records cases of Christian persecution, forced conversion and blasphemy accusations from every district of Pakistan, and welcomes Christian journalists, students and media workers as members.