Afghan Christian Fears For His Life If Deported From US

The newspapers of the Knight Ridder chain are reporting today on the case of Ahmad Ahmadshah, who has lived in the United States since 1996, and is fighting deportation by the US government based on visa irregularities. Ahmadshah is a Christian, and is seeking asylum because he believes he will be killed if he returns to Afghanistan. He became a beliver in 1988, after reading a Bible given to him in secret by friends from Pakistan.

The official policy of the new, American-backed Afghanistan government is one of religious tolerance, says a Afghan spokesman quoted in the article. But, the representative adds, "there might be [individual] instances of targeting people who do not believe in Islam."