Pakistani Muslims Accused of Gang-Raping Christian Girl Attack Family Members, Set Home on Fire to Force Dropping of Charges
- Mahamunimodi Team
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
A group of Muslims in Pakistan who are accused of gang-raping a Christian girl have escalated their efforts to silence the victim’s family, attacking relatives and setting fire to their home in an attempt to force the family to withdraw sexual assault charges, according to sources.
The assailants injured two Catholic young men and later torched their residence in Chak 437-GB village, Tehsil Samundri in the Faisalabad Division of Punjab Province, details a police complaint filed on Monday (April 13).
According to the First Information Report (FIR), Arshad Masih alleged that Zaman Shafique, accompanied by five to six accomplices, assaulted his relatives Faisal Masih and Naveed Masih on Sunday (April 12), leaving them wounded. Masih further stated that around midnight, the attackers returned and set ablaze a thatched portion of the family home.
The police complaint connects the attack to an ongoing criminal case registered last year concerning the gang-rape of a 14-year-old Christian girl, who is a cousin of the two assaulted young men. The FIR notes that Shafique and the suspects in the sexual assault case had been persistently trying to pressure the family into an out-of-court settlement.
“My paternal uncle, Riaz Masih, had registered a case against Zaman Shafique and others for the gang-rape of his daughter,” Masih stated in the complaint filed with Samundri Saddar Police. “The accused had been using various pressure tactics to force us into reconciliation. When we refused, they attacked my cousins and later set fire to part of our house.”
A local source, Maqsood, told Christian Daily International–Morning Star News, “There are about 30 Christian families in this village, and the accused had publicly threatened that Christian homes would be burned if the victim’s family did not agree to a settlement.”
Katherine Sapna, executive director of Christians’ True Spirit—a rights organization providing legal assistance to the Catholic family—revealed that her group has also faced intimidation.
“The accused have repeatedly tried to pressure us into withdrawing legal support for the family,” Sapna told Christian Daily International–Morning Star News. “They issued threats over the phone and even came to our office on multiple occasions to intimidate us. We made it clear that we will not yield to such tactics.”
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