Body of Slain Christian Doctor Discovered in Pakistan
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
SANGHAR, PAKISTAN (Worthy News) – The body of a young missing Christian medical doctor who was “murdered” in southeastern Pakistan amid rising Islamic extremism has been found, Christians confirmed Sunday.
The late Dr. Sabar Masih, 24, was found in a canal near the Chak-36 Workshop area of the city of Sanghar in Pakistan’s Sindh province, according to footage obtained by Worthy News.
Men carefully took the lifeless body of the doctor out of the water on Tuesday, February 10, not far from his private clinic, the video recording showed.
“After a postmortem examination, it was confirmed that an unknown assailant had brutally murdered the young doctor. [There were] signs of severe beating evident on his body,” said Sardar Mushtaq Gill, the founder of LEAD Ministries Pakistan, an advocacy and aid group helping Christians in Pakistan.
“Early indications suggest that the murder may have been fueled by religious hatred, as the victim belonged to the Christian faith,” he told Worthy News.
Dr. Masih was the latest Christian known to have been killed in Pakistan, a mainly Muslim nation where numerous devoted Christian believers were attacked in recent weeks.
In remarks shared with Worthy News, his uncle and fellow doctor, Izhaq, recalled that his nephew, “who wasn’t married,” went missing after going “to work as usual on Monday morning.”
MUSLIM AREA
He had been “visiting his clinic before heading to the Muslim Jogi residential area to attend to a patient,” the uncle added. “After failing to hear from him for an extended period,” the uncle “grew concerned” and started searching for his nephew.
Doctor Izhaq, who used one name, said, “Sabar’s body was found submerged in water, with residents of the Jogi area confirming the location where it had been abandoned.”
The local Workshop 36 Chak police station in Sanghar has launched a criminal investigation into the incident, Worthy News learned.
Gill, a devoted Christian advocacy official who faced death threats, called for “the immediate arrest of the perpetrators” and “justice for the young doctor and his grieving family.”
This “heinous act is a reminder of the growing intolerance and discrimination faced by religious minorities in Pakistan,” Gill told Worthy News. He suggested that Muslim extremists have targeted Christians for their faith in Christ. “We will continue to stand for the rights and protection of Christians and demand swift action from the authorities to ensure justice for Dr. Sabar Masih.”
He added that the murder of the doctor “sparked outrage and deep concern within Pakistan’s Christian community, with calls for increased efforts to safeguard the lives of religious minorities in the country.”
Pakistan currently ranks 8th on the annual World Watch List of 50 nations, where advocacy group Open Doors says Christians face the most persecution.
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