Shooting Kills Christian Mother In Pakistan; Daughter Injured

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

GUJRANWALA (Worthy News) – A Christian mother was killed and her teenage daughter critically injured after being shot in Pakistan’s city of Gujranwala by suspected Muslims who condemned their faith in Christ, well-informed sources told Worthy News.

“The mother, Shabana Karamat, 45, was killed instantly, while her 18-year-old daughter, Misbah, sustained critical injuries. She is currently fighting for her life in the hospital,” said Sardar Mushtaq Gill, the founder of Christian charity LEAD Ministries Pakistan.

“The mother and daughter, who were employed as domestic workers in Muslim households, were attacked on their way home from work,” Gill told Worthy News.

Local police launched an investigation to determine the identity of the attackers and a motive behind Monday’s shooting, Christians said.

However, after “watching the videos, it appears that the two Christians were targeted for elimination because of their faith. There were no other apparent conflicts, as they are simply laborers,” Gill stressed.

“The assailants seem to have aimed at creating a sense of fear and insecurity among Christians in Punjab,” the province where the latest attack occurred, he added.

“The case has been filed [at police] against two unknown assailants based on a complaint from Karamat Masih, Shabana’s husband,” Gill confirmed to Worthy News.

STRONG CONDEMNATION

He said that LEAD Ministries Pakistan “strongly condemned this tragic incident” and called “for swift justice for the family.”

After listening to the videos, Gill stressed that “it seems they were targeted due to the Christian faith as there is no dispute of family with anyone. They are simple laborers. ”

“The assailants seem to have aimed at creating a sense of fear and insecurity among Christians in Punjab, Pakistan.”

Monday’s attack came while Christians were already mourning Suleman Masih, a 25-year-old Christian farmer, who they say was “brutally murdered” by “Muslim landlords” on New Year’s Day.

The January 1 attack in the village of Kot Asad Ullah near the city of Gujranwala came after the “Masih family was falsely accused [of wrongdoing],” recalled Gill.

“The land they cultivated was forcibly taken from them,” added Gill in an interview with Worthy News. “Despite this, the heartless Muslim perpetrators were not satisfied [with the land] and went on to murder the young man. He was shot in the stomach, and his younger brother Dawood, who was also attacked, narrowly survived his injuries,” Gill said.

Video footage shared by local believers with Worthy News showed Christians praying and crying near the body of the deceased. The latest incidents highlighted broader concern about reported attacks against Christians and their churches in the mainly Muslim nation.

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