For information about the Orthodox Mission in Pakistan, see here.
For previous ChristianPersecution.com coverage of the persecution of Christians in Pakistan, see here.
“Assault on Christian Mother in Pakistan Goes Unprosecuted,” Morning Star News, January 16, 2024:
LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – Police in Pakistan refused to file charges in the case of a Christian mother who lost her unborn child in a Muslim co-worker’s attempt to rape her, sources said.
Rakhil Nadeem Masih was eight months pregnant when a co-worker at a brick kiln near Clarakabad village in Kasur District, Punjab Province, attacked her in her living quarters at the kiln on Nov. 6, said her husband, Nadeem Masih.
He found her bleeding as the co-worker kicked and beat her, but after Masih took her to a government hospital, a doctor who stated that the violence led to her baby’s death refused to sign the medical report due to the influence of the Muslim kiln owner, Masih said. The kiln owner also influenced police, he said.
Rights activist Napolean Qayyum told Christian Daily International/Morning Star News that the case was another example of how influential Muslims circumvent the law.
“The poor couple’s unborn child was murdered,” Qayyum said. “The medical report certifies that the woman was brutally tortured, which caused the baby’s death, yet the police are still refusing to register an FIR [First Information Report].”
Qayyum said he has filed a complaint with the office of the Punjab Inspector General of Police, “but there has been no progress on it.”
Masih said that his 25-year-old wife had stepped out of their living quarters at the kiln on Nov. 6 to dispose of some garbage when she noticed the co-worker, identified only as Chand, taking photos of her with his phone. Rakhil Nadeem rebuked Chand and returned to her quarters, but he followed her inside and attacked her, Masih said.
Chand beat her and attempted to rape her, the impoverished laborer said, adding that his three children witnessed the violence.
“Rakhil begged and pleaded Chand to leave her, repeatedly telling him to spare her and her unborn child, but he would not listen,” Masih told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. “I was working at the kiln when I heard the screams of my wife and children. I ran towards my quarters, where I saw Chand punching and kicking Rakhil, who was lying on the floor profusely bleeding.”…
After Rakhil Nadeem returned home, Masih and his father went to the police station to file a complaint against Chand.
“The police asked us to bring the medico-legal certificate from the hospital, which was required to file a First Information Report,” Masih said. “However, when we submitted the certificate, the police refused to register a case, saying that the certificate had not been signed by the concerned doctor.”
When he went back to the hospital, the doctor declined to sign the document, he said.
“I later came to know that both the police and the doctor have been influenced by the Muslim owner of the brick kiln, Chaudhry Abdul Rehman,” Masih said. “The accused, Chand, is a henchman of Rehman, and it is because of his influence that police are reluctant to file a case against Chand and arrest him.”…
