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Christian man, pregnant wife beaten, burnt to death over ‘Quran desecration’

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BY ASHER JOHN

An enraged Muslim mob beat a Christian couple to death and burnt their bodies in the brick kiln where they worked on Tuesday for allegedly desecrating pages of the Holy Quran.

The incident took place in Chak 59 village near Kot Radha Kishan, some 60 kilometres southwest of Lahore, and is the latest example of mob violence against non-Muslims accused of blasphemy.

Sources privy to the details of the incident told Pakistan Today that Shahzad Masih and his wife Shama worked in a brick kiln owned by a man named Yousaf Gujjar since the last 3-4 years.

“The couple were originally from Clarkabad, a Christian village a few kilometeres away from Raiwind but they had been working at Yousaf Gujjar’s brick kiln for the last 3-4 years and were living in a quarter in the premises,” a relative of the deceased couple toldPakistan Today on the condition of anonymity.

He said that on Sunday, Shama, wife of the deceased Shahzad Masih, was cleaning her quarters when she found some amulets belonging to her late father-in-law who used to ‘practice’ black magic.

“Shama burnt the amulets and threw them on a garbage heap. Irfan, a Muslim co-worker at the kiln, noticed some half burnt pieces of paper from the amulets and raised clamour, claiming that these were pages from the holy Quran, Soon the word spread and at 7am on Tuesday, a Muslim mob of about 3,000-4,000 people attacked the couple’s quarters at the brick kiln and tortured the couple to death. They later threw their bodies into the kiln and completely burnt them,” he said, adding that he and some other Christian families who worked at the kiln fled the kiln immediately after the incident.

He said the couple, aged between 30 and 35 years had three children while Shama was expecting a fourth child.

Read more » Pakistan Today

One thought on “Christian man, pregnant wife beaten, burnt to death over ‘Quran desecration’”

  1. Murder of Christian couple in Pakistan

    The report of murder of Christian couple, labor at brick kiln, by unruly crowd has been circulated worldwide through national and international print and electronic media. The incident is said to be a result of blasphemous act that the couple had committed.

    It is grumbled that the blasphemous act, in many cases, is misused by powerful and influential persons when they want to settle their account with their foes who happen to be weak and feebly settled in society.

    The affected rather ruined family is grateful to those who shared with them their irreparable loss through words of sympathy. The message becomes more comforting, solicitous and consoling when we see it coming from a distinguished people including Ex-president Zardari, MQM chief Altaf Hussain, Chief of Islamic Counsil Moulana Tahir Ashrafi, MNAS, MPAS and many other renowned Islamic scholars.

    Thankfully, in such a disastrous situation, we have a sensitive and responsible government. Chief Minister, Shahbaz Shrif, reputed for his alertness towards the administration, went into spontaneous action. He has established a high powered inquiring squad, has granted prodigious amount of money for the distressed folks.

    Such timely, caring and generous attitude will not sooth the wounds of wounded only but also win applause and admiration from all quarters, in particular from the minorities.

    Prime Minister, Mr Nawaz Shrif, is equally watchful of the incident taking keen interest. Many anxiously waiting for the outcome of the inquiry wishing the result to be full of retribution for the criminals.

    Mushtaq Dean

    Reply

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