Pakistan: Police Refuse to Arrest Muslim Who Pushed Christian Female Employee Into Electric Cutting Machine

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – A lawyer in Pakistan is demanding that reluctant police authorities arrest an Islamist employer who caused a young Christian female employee to lose an ear and most of her scalp when he pushed her into an electric chaff cutter last month, Morning Star News (MSN) reports.

A 24-year-old Christian mother of two children, Saima Bibi was attacked on Apr. 12 by Muhammad Mustafa, the Islamist employer who owns the farm she and her husband Shahzad Masih worked on in Ram Diwali Chak No. 6 village, Faisalabad District, MSN reports.

On the day of the attack, Saima and Masih were in their living quarters on the farm when Mustafa arrived and chastised them for not cutting fodder for the cattle. “I immediately got up and started to cut the fodder in the electric chaff cutter, but as soon as my wife came outside to give me tea, Mustafa started hurling abuses at her and told her to get to work,” Masih told MSN.

“When Saima said that she’ll begin work in 10 minutes, Mustafa pulled her from the hair and pushed her towards the chaff cutter, causing her to fall and hitting her head in the running machine,” Masih continued. “Blood started gushing out of Saima’s head, and she screamed and cried in pain. Seeing her in a bloody mess, Mustafa fled the scene.” Having lost an ear and part of her scalp, and with injuries to her right eye, Saima was hospitalized.

When Masih sought to file a complaint for the assault, police advised him to drop the matter because Mustafa is a man of influence in the area, MSN reports. Masih then contacted Attorney Akmal Bhatti, chairman of the Minorities Alliance Pakistan for help. “The police’s inaction and bias against the victim’s minority status exemplifies systemic challenges and discriminatory practices prevalent in rural policing,” Bhatti told MSN. “Saima’s case shows the vulnerability of religious minorities, particularly women, in rural settings where power dynamics and societal hierarchies often perpetuate injustice and impunity. We demand that authorities must expedite efforts to apprehend the accused and ensure that the victim is given justice.”

Ruled by a harsh Islamic regime, Pakistan ranks on the Open Doors World Watch List 2024 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.

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