Pakistan Hindu Killed For Refusing To Convert To Islam; Christians Concerned
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN (Worthy News) – Christians expressed concern Sunday about the death of a Hindu man who was shot dead in the Pakistani city of Peshawar for reportedly refusing to convert to Islam, Pakistan’s main religion.
Saturday’s killing of 56-year-old Nadeem Amin near his home in Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, “has sparked widespread outrage” among Christians and other religious minorities, said Sardar Mushtaq Gill, the founder of Christian advocacy group LEAD Ministries.
The suspected gunman was detained Sunday and murder charges have been filed against sources said.
However, Christians and others “are now questioning the authorities’ failure to protect them from such violence,” Gill told Worthy News. “This attack comes just weeks after another similar incident in March, in which Masih Waqas, a young Christian man, was attacked and had his throat slit for refusing to abandon his faith. Waqas is currently fighting for his life in the hospital.”
Pastor Imran Amanat, leader of LEAD Ministries Pakistan, also condemned the attacks, calling them “grievous” violations of human rights. “The lives of innocent individuals are being taken or jeopardized simply because they refuse to abandon their faith,” Amanat said in remarks to Worthy News.
“The perpetrators of such violence, driven by religious intolerance, must be held accountable immediately,” he added.
ISLAMIC OPPRESSION
Yet, “Despite calls for justice, many fear that without firm action from the authorities, such incidents will continue to plague the country, further endangering the lives of vulnerable communities, LEAD explained.
“The surge in Islamic oppression has reached an alarming and uncontrollable magnitude,” the group noticed.
It stressed that the violence is also “fueled by the proliferation of extremist ideologies that manipulate blasphemy laws to target innocent individuals.”
Radical Islamists, LEAD noticed, “are brazenly inciting hatred, advocating for the murder of those who dare to challenge” these religious doctrines.
“Even covert Islamist factions, operating in the underworld, have become embroiled in these violent threats, vowing to kill critics beyond Pakistan’s borders,” LEAD warned.
The group urged the government, religious groups, and the international community to take action and “urgently condemn this escalating wave of extremism and take decisive action to address its growing threat.”
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