In August 2020, the International Christian Concern, an interdenominational human rights organization, reported that an elderly couple situated in Pakistan was pressured into converting to Islam as a means to settle a financial debt caused by the recent economic impact of COVID-19.
Sultan Masih and his wife, Sofia Bibi are a senior couple from the Khanewal district in Pakistan's Punjab province. According to the report, Sultan Masih borrowed 400,000 PKR ($2,385.00) from a Muslim merchant with the intent to invest into a business. These plans however came crashing down on the elderly couple after the recent COVID-19 pandemic. What transpired next is a situation that has been occurring worldwide, resulting in the failure of Masih's investment and his inability to repay the debt that was owed.
While repayment was impossible for Masih, the Muslim merchant started threatening the couple to get his investment back. In the end, the Muslim merchant's solution to the debt was for Masih and his wife, Sofia, to convert to Islam. In the end, due to the pressing financial burdens on the elderly couple, they had no choice but to accept the terms and convert to Islam.
As a result, in the course of the conversion ceremony, Sultan Masih became Muhammad Sultan while his wife remained as Sofia.
Pastor Sarfraz stated "This is alarming and unbearable situation". He goes on to state that Christians are usually day laborers and have no method to improve their quality of life. As a result, Pastor Sarfraz went on to say that the Pakistan government should introduce policies to protect their religious freedoms and livelihoods.
