Listeners:
Top listeners:
-
play_arrow
Christian Pilgrim Killed In Pakistan Amid Rising Persecution
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
ISLAMABAD (Worthy News) – Christians in Pakistan’s Punjab province were mourning Monday after a suspected Muslim gunman killed a Christian rickshaw driver and father of four in the latest anti-Christian attack to grip the Islamic nation.
Afzal Masih, 42, was shot dead early Sunday around 1:30 a.m. local time near the city of Farooqabad while on his way to the Catholic Feast of the Nativity of Mary near a shrine in Mariamabad, which means the “City of Mary,” Christian investigators told Worthy News.
A second Christian man — Afzal’s younger brother — was critically injured in the attack, Christians said. They were among an estimated 2 million Pakistani Catholics attending the annual feast, according to organizers.
The First Information Report (FIR) by police, needed to launch a criminal investigation, said Masih and his family “were traveling in their own vehicle when a Muslim man on a motorcycle began zigzagging in front of them on the road near Farooqabad.”
When Masih stopped to confront him, a heated argument allegedly broke out.
“Shortly afterward, the pilgrims’ vehicle suffered a punctured tire, forcing them to stop at a local puncture repair shop,” confirmed Christian advocacy group LEAD Ministries Pakistan.
OPENING FIRE
“It was there that the same motorcyclist returned and opened fire without warning, fatally shooting Afzal Masih and seriously injuring his younger brother,” the group told Worthy News.
The suspect was publicly named as Muhammad Waqas, but no arrests had been made by Monday, prompting “deep concern and anger among Pakistan’s Christian community,” said LEAD founder Mushtaq Sardar Gill.
It was not immediately clear whether Waqas had confessed to the crime.
“Many believe the attack was intended to intimidate and terrorize Christian pilgrims, particularly during a time of spiritual significance,” Gill explained to Worthy News.
Pastor Imran Amanat, director of LEAD Ministries Pakistan, said the killing “is not just an isolated crime” but “reflects a growing pattern of hate against peaceful Christians exercising their constitutional right to religious freedom.”
Gill, a human rights lawyer, urged the government to act swiftly. “We demand justice for Afzal Masih’s family and immediate protection for Christians across Pakistan, especially during religious events like the Mariamabad pilgrimage,” he said.
Despite constitutional protections for religious freedom, Pakistan’s Christian minority continues “to face systemic discrimination, mob violence, and legal persecution,” Gill noted.
SPREADING FEAR
Human rights advocates argue that alleged “police inaction” emboldens perpetrators and “creates a culture of impunity.”
“This killing is a message meant to spread fear,” said Pastor Amanat. “But we will not be silenced. We will mourn, we will pray, and we will demand accountability.”
LEAD Ministries urged the global Christian community to pray for Masih’s grieving family and the recovery of his injured brother while calling on international human rights groups to pressure the Pakistani government to protect religious minorities and ensure justice.
Pakistan ranks 7th on the Open Doors World Watch List of 50 nations where it says Christians face the most extreme persecution.
“By far, the most Christians live in Punjab Province, so many incidents of persecution, discrimination, and intolerance occur there,” said advocacy group Open Doors. “Next to Punjab, the province of Sindh is also notorious for being a centre for bonded labour, which affects many Christians,” it added.
Pakistanis identifying as Christians comprise nearly two percent of Pakistan’s mainly Muslim population of roughly 252 million people, according to several data sources.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
Investigations continued Friday after a suspected Islamist gunman opened fire in a classroom at Old Dominion University in the U.S. state of Virginia on Thursday, killing a Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) instructor and wounding two others before he was subdued by students and died, officials said.
All six crew members aboard a U.S. refueling aircraft have died after the plane crashed over western Iraq, the U.S. military confirmed Friday, as fighting between the United States, Israel, and Iran continued to intensify.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday that Iran’s newly installed supreme leader is likely wounded, disfigured, and hiding underground as the Islamic Republic reels from the opening blows of the war with the United States and Israel.
Bible sales in Britain have surged to their highest levels since records began, reflecting a growing spiritual interest across the nation—particularly among younger generations.
A damaged Russian gas tanker is drifting unmanned through the Mediterranean Sea, prompting Malta to prepare emergency measures while tensions linked to the war in Ukraine spill into Europe’s energy and security landscape.
Iran launched a new wave of drone and missile attacks on Gulf countries Thursday, the 13th day of the United States-Israel war against Tehran, with strikes reported in Bahrain and other states, sending oil prices sharply higher and raising concerns among foreign workers, including Christians.
Nearly 25,000 Christians, many of them impoverished sanitation workers and day laborers, face possible eviction from their homes in Pakistan’s capital after authorities ordered them to vacate two settlements within days, Christians familiar with the situation confirmed Thursday.
WHO WE ARE
The Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs encapsulate the beauty, wisdom, and eternal truths found in the Bible, creating an immersive experience that resonates with believers and seekers alike.
CONTACT
- +1 908 280-4246
- Essex County, USA
- info@tnjrfm.com