Pakistani-American Pastor And Wife Shot Dead in Islamabad
Friday, August 31, 2007 (12:00 am)
By Santosh Digal, BosNewsLife Southeast Asia Correspondent
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (BosNewsLife) — The pastor of a Christian church and his American wife were shot dead in their home in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, police said Thursday, August 30.
The bodies of Arif Khan, a Pakistani-American citizen in his 50s, and his American wife Kathleen Khan, 45, were found late Wednesday at their home in a residential neighborhood of Islamabad, said Munawar Hussain, the local police chief in published remarks.
The Associated Press news agency said the suspect was identified as a fellow Christian who police claimed did it as an "honor" killing, believing the pastor had been having an affair with the man's wife.
Reverend Kahn was pastor of a small church in nearby Rawalpindi. Christians are a tiny minority in predominantly Muslim Pakistan. Killings in the name of restoring a family's perceived honor are not uncommon.
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The latest killing was expected to underscore concerns among Christian pastors and missionaries about working in Pakistan following a spate of attacks against churches.
Anti-Christian violence has been increasing in the country in recent years, several human rights groups have said. Funeral arrangements were not immediately clear Thursday, August 30.
The US Embassy in Islamabad, citing American policies regarding privacy laws, refused to discuss the case.
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