Though Christians are beaten, persecuted, attacked again and again, they have not lost hope, stated Christian human rights activist Asif Bastian, from The Voice of Justice group. He said Christians are ‘repeatedly attacked by Islamic fanatics and criminals with impunity’.
Civil society groups in Pakistan called for an end to ‘unabated attacks on people belonging to religious minorities’ in Pakistan.
They were speaking at a peaceful protest staged by a Christian-led rights organization at the Karachi Press Club on Sunday (Feb. 6) against the Jan. 30 killing of Christian Pastor Rev. William Siraj, in Peshawar.
They demanded the arrest of the attackers, and that the perpetrators are convicted for their crimes. ‘However, the sad reality it that attacks on religious minorities usually go unpunished’, they noted.
“The feeling of insecurity within the Christian community and other religious minorities increases when such incidents take place in Pakistan. We feel left alone, unprotected and in danger,” Noel Ijaz, chairman of Muttahida Masihi Council Pakistan, said.
“We demand justice for our pastor martyred in Peshawar, and demand the arrest of the assailants to duly prosecute them. And we also pray for peace, harmony and unity in Pakistan,” he added.
On January 30, two attackers on a motorcycle opened fire on the car of Pastor Patrick Naeem and Pastor William Siraj as the clerics drove home from church, killing Pastor William and wounding the other.
They also demanded justice for the killing of Hindu trader Sattan Lal on January 31 in Daharki, in Sindh province.
Sattan Lal was killed on the day his new cotton factory and flour mill were officially opened. He had previously been threatened and told to leave the country and go to India as he was a Hindu.
Sarran refused to be cowed down and in a video that went viral a few months ago he said: “I belong to this country, and I will prefer to die here and will not surrender.”
“It is terrible. We also demand justice for him. These terrorists only bring shame and a bad name to our beloved homeland by attacking the religious minorities living in Pakistan,” Joseph Jansen, chairman of The Voice for Justice, told the media.
According to UCA news, last week the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) and Archbishop Benny Mario Travas of Karachi called on the whole Christian community to unite in prayer after the attack on the pastors.
The archbishop condemned the attack and appealed to the government to bring the killers to justice and to work for the peace and security of all the religious minorities living in Pakistan.
The murder of the pastor has instilled fear among Christians and has disturbed the peace and religious harmony all over Pakistan, the prelate said in a statement.
The gruesome killing is yet another incident of atrocities faced by the minority communities in Pakistan, where Christians have suffered brutalities like abduction, killings and have been convicted of blasphemy, facing death sentence, according to an IANS report.
After the latest killing of Pastor William Siraj, there are fears among minority Christians in Pakistan that Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan or Pakistani Taliban would target them again. Christians have been targeted by the militants in recent years and violence has increased since the Pakistani Taliban ended a ceasefire with the Pakistan government recently, the report said.
Pakistan had the second-highest number of Christians killed for their faith, behind Nigeria, in Open Doors’ 2022 World Watch report with 620 slain between October 1, 2020 and September 30, 2021. The nation also had the fourth-highest number of churches attacked or closed, with 183, and ranked eighth on the list of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.
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