Pakistani Christian Woman Is Murdered after Refusing to Marry a Muslim Man
A Christian woman in Pakistan was reportedly murdered for refusing to marry a Muslim man, CBN News reports.
The woman, whose name is Sonia, was reportedly repeatedly harassed by one of her alleged murderers, Muhammad Shehzad, who even tried to force a physical relationship on her. According to Sonia’s family, the man and his mother both aggressively asked Sonia to convert to Islam and marry Shehzad. However, Sonia and her parents refused.
According to International Christian Concern, Shehzad had been harassing Sonia for six months before she was reportedly shot and killed by him in public while on her way to work.
“A few days before the incident, Sonia was again harassed by Shehzad,” Allah Rakha, Sonia’s father, told International Christian Concern. “Since she was a committed Christian, she did not betray Jesus and sacrificed her life for her faith. We are being harassed and pressurized to withdraw the case against the culprits. However, I want culprits brought to justice,” Rakha said.
On December 6, police arrested Faizan, whom Sonia was set to marry. Shehzad is still at large, but raids are reportedly being carried out to find Shehzad, The Express Tribune reports.
According to police reports reviewed by The Express Tribune, Sonia was set to marry Faizan and was traveling with him when Shehzad opened fire on her. Police believe the murder was carried out by Shehzad out of personal resentment, but are investigating Faizan as a suspect to ensure that all aspects have been looked at.
Sonia lives in Fazaia Colony in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, with her parents and, according to them, was a committed Christian. In fact, it was differences in religion that led Sonia to choose to avoid getting into a relationship with Shehzad.
This isn’t the first time a Christian woman had been pressured into a potential marriage. Last month, a Christian girl by the name of Arzoo Raja was reportedly abducted and forced to marry a 44-year-old Muslim man.
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Mr. Khan
John Paluska has been a contributor for Christian Headlines since 2016 and is the founder of The Daily Fodder, a news outlet he relaunched in 2019 as a response to the constant distribution of fake news.
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