Washington, D.C. – International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on May 28, twelve heavily armed Muslim men attacked a pastor and his family in Smundri, Pakistan. Pastor Mubarak Masih and his family were assaulted after Shaid Masih, the pastor’s 13-year-old nephew, refused to read verses from the Qur’an despite pressure from his teacher.
The Islamists beat the pastor’s head with sticks and rods; almost killed his brother when they shot him, grazing his head and causing a minor injury; and broke their mother’s left arm.
In a statement to ICC, the family said that Zufair Gujhar, Shaid’s teacher, is a fundamentalist Muslim who routinely forces Christian students to read the Qur’an and other Islamic books. He pressures his Christian students to accept Islam.
Pastor Mubarak, a pastor of the Church of God, said, “We will continue our mission work at any cost and no one can stop us.”
The family reported the incident to the police but they have not yet taken any action against the alleged perpetrators.
ICC’s Regional Manager for South Asia, Jonathan Racho, said, “The violent attack against Pastor Mubarak and his family as well as the beating of Shaid for refusing to read the Qur’an is another demonstration of the dire situation in which Christians find themselves in Pakistan. We are saddened by the utter disregard of the rights of religious minorities in Pakistan.”
Please contact the embassy of Pakistan in your country and ask the Pakistani officials to bring Zufair Gujhar and the other 12 perpetrators of this attack to justice.
Pakistani Embassies:
USA: (202) 243-3254 (phone), (202) 686-1534 (Fax)
Canada: (613) 238-7881 (phone), (613) 238-7298 (Fax)
UK: 0870-005-6967 (phone)
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