Pakistan Christians Fear Future After Killing And Church Attacks (Worthy News In-Depth)

By Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

ISLAMABAD (Worthy News) – Christians in Pakistan’s Punjab province were reeling Sunday from fresh threats by suspected Islamic extremists following the murder of a manual worker they said was killed for his faith in Christ.

A Christian teenage girl working at a Muslim household was also falsely accused of theft and tortured by local police, while a local church and Christian homes were attacked with threatening graffiti, Christians told Worthy News.

The latest anti-Christian attacks began August 16, when Christian laborer Saleem Masih, 50, was killed in Nekapura village in Punjab’s Sialkot District, said human rights lawyer Sardar Mushtaq Gill, founder of the advocacy group LEAD Ministries Pakistan.

Masih reportedly tried to rescue a Christian boy, Elia, who was threatened by two Muslims publicly identified as Ali Haidar and Shamshah. Realizing he was a Christian, they attacked him with knives, Gill said.

“He was rushed to the hospital, but did not survive the wounds,” Gill added. Footage obtained by Worthy News showed Masih wrapped in bandages, though Worthy News chose not to publish the image, citing ethical guidelines.

“This horrific act highlights the ongoing persecution and insecurity faced by Christian minorities in Pakistan,” Gill told Worthy News. “Such violence demands immediate and decisive action to safeguard the dignity, rights, and safety of all minorities.”

MOTHER DEMANDS JUSTICE

Elsewhere in Punjab, a Christian mother demanded justice after her 15-year-old daughter, Mehak, was allegedly framed in a false theft case by a Muslim landlord near Lahore.

Police later tortured the girl, Gill said. In video footage obtained by Worthy News, Mehak’s mother described in tears how her daughter, who worked as a maid in the landlord’s household, was forced under torture to name a rival man as her accomplice. That man was subsequently arrested and also allegedly tortured.

“My daughter is innocent. They tortured her. We are Christians, we are poor, but we are human. Who will give us justice?” the woman said, holding an infant beside her visibly shaken daughter.

On Sunday, Christians also faced fresh intimidation as suspected extremists defaced a church in Layyah with Islamic inscriptions and cryptic symbols. Graffiti included numbers such as “270” and “230,” and the term “Christian–Asai” crossed out—messages Christians described as coded threats.

Eyewitnesses said the symbols were painted on church walls and near Christian homes. Local Christians said police know who is responsible but have not acted, “further eroding” trust in authorities.

Gill said the Layyah incident follows a pattern. “In Karachi, Islamic phrases were recently painted on the Holy Trinity Church. Extremists defaced the same church two years ago. Earlier, Pastor Vicky’s church in Faisalabad was attacked with identical inscriptions. These repeated acts suggest an agenda to convert churches into mosques.”

THREATENING SYMBOLS

Christian leaders warned that symbolic acts of intimidation often precede physical violence.

“This incident fits into a broader pattern of hostility faced by Christians in Pakistan—from hate speech and forced conversions to mob violence. Human rights defenders warn that symbolic acts of intimidation like graffiti often precede physical violence, as witnessed during the 2023 Jaranwala attacks, where churches and Christian homes were set ablaze,” Gill stressed.

Pastor Imran Amanat, leader of LEAD Ministries Pakistan, warned that without “decisive action, there is a grave risk that threats painted on walls will turn into violence against people.”

Gill urged the United Nations and international Christian groups to press Pakistan’s government to protect minorities and hold perpetrators accountable.

Pakistan ranks eighth on the World Watch List of 50 nations where Christians face the worst persecution, according to advocacy group Open Doors.

Roughly 4.5 million people, or 1.8 percent of Pakistan’s population, identify as Christians, research shows.

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