This month in Pakistan a Christian father was killed and his family beaten by a mob of Muslims. According to the International Christian Concern, on Aug. 2 Vicky Masih, a practicing Christian, asked his Muslim friend to pay him back some money that he had lent him.
According to The Christian Post, Masih, was then threatened by his ‘friend,’ Muhammad Ilyas, who said, we would be “teaching him a lesson.” Ilyas also called Masih a “choora” which is a derogatory term used toward Christians marking them as dirty and untouchable.
An Advocate named Tariq Zia told The Christian Post, “Within no time, the party turned into an exchanging of harsh words, a physical clash, and ended with Vicky’s murder.”
Reportedly, Masih was shot in the stomach and later died in hospital.
A little over two weeks after this incident there was another clash between Christians and Muslims in the area. A Christian family was beaten after resisting to allow their 19-year-old daughter to be forced into a marriage with a Muslim man.
Alvin John, the father of the assaulted family, told the ICC, “I shifted my family to this rented house about 10 months ago.”
John continued, “At first, we were asked to leave by some Muslim neighbors because of our Christian faith. But since Easter, we have been pressurized, threatened, and teased.”
He added, “My 19-year-old daughter Aresha then became the target. They would follow my daughter in the streets and markets, offering her a bright and secure future if she converted, and often abused her for her Christian faith.”
While speaking with the town elders in an attempt to resolve the issue, the family was attacked.
“A mob of Muslims, led by Muhammad Samad Zaheer, attacked me and my family around 11:00 p.m. on August 18,” John reported.
He then added, “They damaged the left eye of my son, Vickram John… The attackers also broke most of the house stuff, furniture, doors, and windows. We cannot go back to the house as there is unrest in the neighborhood.”
Photo courtesy: Unsplash/Sameer Akhtari
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