By BosNewsLife Asia Service
LAHORE, PAKISTAN (BosNewsLife)– Christian relief workers rushed to a volatile district in Pakistan’s Punjab province Saturday, February 9, after security forces and Muslim hardliners allegedly abused Christian women and raped at least one Christian girl.
“Yesterday some Muslims and some [undercover] police men raided Kaila Masih’s house” in the town of Pattoki [where they] “beat and tortured Christian women Zareena Bibi,Hameedan Bibi and Sharifan Bibi,” said the Legal Evangelical Association Development (LEAD), an advocacy and aid group.
It was the second such incident in Punjab’s Kasur District within about two weeks, according to LEAD investigators. On January 25 a 15-year-old Christian girl, Fouzia Bibi, was raped by two influential Muslim men in the district’s village of Roday, LEAD Chief Sardar Mushtaq Gill told BosNewsLife.
Gill said he met a local pastor and victims and helped to register a criminal case against the alleged attackers of the women, including “police officials and other Muslims.”
INDEPENDENT POLICE?
LEAD also demands that the rape case be moved to more independent police in Pattoki amid concerns that authorities are reluctant to investigate the crime because of pressure from influential Muslims in the region.
Though police “arrested” one suspect, “he was not yet sent to jail”, complained LEAD investigators.
Another alleged rapist “is free and making threats to Christians of the area,” LEAD said, adding that both men should be jailed.
Local Pastor Saleem Gill said in published remarks that he wasn’t surprised about the slow police investigation. “Our people are poor that’s why they are treated like this,” he reportedly said.
MORE ATTACKS
These are no isolated incidents.
Church groups say minority Christians have been targeted in several areas of Pakistan in attacks fueled by Islamic extremism.
LEAD said however that it would continue to work “with children,families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice”.
“As followers of Jesus, we are motivated by God’s grace and love to serve all people regardless of race,religion gender or ethnicity,” the group added.
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I totally agree with this artical but here one thing is wrong word (muslim) cause such a person cannot be called muslim and these things happens in all communities but they are nevver mentioned by their religion. cause these are not the weaknesses of any religion or not the teaching of any religion but it should be called human weaknesses.whenever a person makes any crime should should be mentioned by their name cause religion has nothing to do with that.
Here i will say that extremism is used aganist islam not against a crime. Hope that this should be avoided in future cause it destroy the peace of the world..
thanks
If a non muslim commit a crime like this then he is a criminal.
If a muslim commit this then he is a muslim…
American christians raped hundreds of muslim girls in iraq and so far in afghanistan,indian army commiting same brutual crimes in kashmir with muslim girls for a very long time,,but no one point a finger on them and if someome do so then the criminal is nothing but a criminal….
And muslim criminal is not criminal but muslim…
America,,,the world’s most christian population in it and on top in rape crimes and sexually harasment,assaulta…..but they are criminals,they ard not christian rapists…
Hell with this dual anti muslim policy…
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