Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Lahore (Agenzia Fides) - A Christian couple, Shahzad 26 years old and Shama 24 years old, were burned to death by a Muslim mob, from five villages in the south of Lahore (Punjab province), who accused them of committing blasphemy for burning pages of the Koran. This was reported to Agenzia Fides by the Christian lawyer, Sardar Mushtaq Gill, a human rights defender, who was called by other Christians and visited the scene of the tragic event, the 'Chak 59" village, near the town of Kot Radha Kishan, in the south of Lahore. The two, who worked in a clay factory, were kidnapped and held hostage for two days, starting from November 2, inside the factory. This morning at 7.00 am they were pushed into a brick-kiln.
As lawyer Gill explains to Fides, the incident, namely the supposed blasphemy, is connected to Shahzad’s father’s death. Two days ago, while Shama was cleaning the man’s house, she took some personal items, papers and sheets of paper she considered useless and burnt everything.
According to a Muslim man who witnessed the scene, pages of the Koran were burned. The man then spread the word in the surrounding villages and a crowd of over 100 people took the two young people hostage. This morning the tragic ending. The police, alerted by other Christians, intervened and arrested 35 people.
Lawyer Gill told Fides: "It is a tragedy, a barbaric and inhumane act. The whole world must strongly condemn this incident which shows how insecurity in Pakistan has increased among Christians. An accusation is enough to be victims of extrajudicial executions. We will see if anyone will be punished for this murder". (PA (Agenzia Fides 04/11/2014)
