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Content warning: the linked article from Asia News includes a graphic image of the murdered man’s body.
Religious liberty activists are raising the alarm over a Christian man in Pakistan who was brutally tortured and killed May 12 over a theft allegation, allegedly at the order of a former police officer.
Christian Daily International in collaboration with Morning Star News reported that 35-year-old Kashif Masih had been working on former police officer Malik Irfan’s farm for three years when on May 11, Irfan summoned him to the outhouse and accused him of stealing a cell phone.
Irfan, his relatives Areeb Babar and Ijaz Ikramullah, and several other men started beating Masih with wooden clubs and iron bars and hammering steel nails into his legs.
On May 12, at 2:30 a.m., Babar and Ilkramullah came to Masih’s residence, where he lived with his brother Riyasat.
“They alleged that my brother Kashif had stolen a cell phone from their outhouse,” Riyasat told Christian Daily International. “They conducted a thorough search of our house and left after finding nothing there. They did not tell us at that time that Kashif was in their custody since the evening of May 11, Sunday.”
Several neighbors told Riyasat at 5 a.m. May 12 that his brother had been thrown into a local street. Riyasat, who had not been able to contact Kashif, immediately rushed to his brother.
“We were already very worried because we were unable to contact him,” Riyasat said. “As soon as we got the information, we rushed to the spot and found him lying there, badly bruised with blood gushing out from several parts of his body. He was still breathing when we brought him home.”
He added later, “I cannot express the pain when I saw my younger brother’s body. The bruise marks showed the brutality he had suffered at the hands of his influential employer and his goons.”
Police arrested Irfan May 13, and Babar and Ilkramullah obtained pre-arrest bail. Police have not found the other assailants.
Riyasat spoke about how deeply the death of his brother affected their mother.
“We are seven brothers and two sisters, and Kashif was the fifth among us,” he said. “Our father passed away some years ago, and all of us work as laborers to support our families. I cannot tell you the condition of our elderly mother who is devastated by Kashif’s gruesome murder.”
He added that he does not think his brother was murdered over the alleged phone theft.
“If they had suspected Kashif of stealing the phone, they could have simply handed him to the police or brought the matter to our notice,” he said. “The manner in which they mercilessly beat him black and blue and hammered nails in his body makes me suspect that the reason was something else.”
Local Christians have rallied around the family, offering to help obtain justice for the murdered man, Christian Daily International reported.
“I’m very grateful to my community for standing with us in this difficult time,” Riyasat said. “They have not only raised funds to support us but are also actively engaged in finding good legal representation which can help us in getting justice for Kashif.”
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Asia News reported that minority rights advocate Joseph Janssen condemned the attack and stated that it was not an isolated incident. He referenced the recent torture and murder of Asif Masih, a 28-year-old Christian.
“Such brutality does not occur without systemic failings. Pakistan must uphold its international human rights obligations and ensure such acts do not go unpunished,” he stated.
He also raised concern over Pakistan’s culture of impunity, as police officers and others in protected classes can act without consequences.
“When law enforcement itself becomes a tool of torture, and the badge becomes a licence to kill, justice ceases to be justice — it becomes selective tyranny,” Janssen added.
Asia News addeds, “Kashif Masih’s family now fears retaliation and is calling on the state for protection, as the main accused enjoys significant social and political influence, which could obstruct the legal process.”
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