advocacy group, urged the government Wednesday, April 27, to protect Christians in rural areas after a young Catholic was attacked and reportedly left for dead by Muslim militants, church sources said.
AsiaNews, a Catholic oriented news service, said 24-year old Shahbaz Masih is in critical condition in hospital following the April 23 attack in Mandi Bahaud Din district, about 175 kilometers (109 miles) south of Islamabad. No more details about his medical condition were immediately available.
Local sources said "seven or eight young men" seized Shahbaz at night, took him to a field and beat him, "leaving him for dead," AsiaNews reported. They then telephoned Shahbaz’s parents and told them their son was dead. The parents found Shahbaz in a field and took him seriously injured to the hospital, the news agency claimed.
Father Rehmat Hakim, the local parish priest, said the troubles began after Shahbaz drove a tractor for a Muslim landlord "who was very kind to the young man." He said this "did not go well with some Muslims who want Christians to remain subservient and dependent," AsiaNews reported.
Christians in the village are reportedly fearful of another attack, as three other cases of Muslims attacking Christians allegedly happened in Lahore and Islamabad during the last two months. There was no independent confirmation of these reports.
CHRISTIAN FAMILIES
Up to 25 Christian families live in the predominantly Muslim village. They own houses but no land for cultivation and earn their living mainly as agricultural workers for Muslim landlords, church sources said.
Father Hakim stressed the relationship between landlords and Christian workers have been overshadowed by anger among local Muslims "that Christians attend school and do well" in their studies. "Last year one boy got a mark of 70 percent in the matriculation examination, while another was first in computer science at the local university," AsiaNews quoted him as saying.
AsiaNews said local Christians claim that a Muslim religious leader has already through the mosque loudspeaker that if Christian boys get educated, there will be no workers left to till the land.
In a statement released by AsiaNews, the MRCP warned that "such attacks make Christians insecure and create friction between Muslim and Christian citizens. Hence the government should look into this seriously." Human rights groups have also expressed concern about attacks against churches. In the latest incident last month, armed militants attacked Christian worshippers as they emerged from Easter services in a village church.
One man was reportedly killed and up to seven other congregants injured when Muslim gunmen opened fire during the morning service of the Victory Church International in the village of Khamba near Lahore.
(With BosNewsLife Research and reports from Pakistan)
