Death in Lahore

Nauman Masih, a 14-year-old Pakistani Christian doused with gasoline and set afire by a group of Muslim attackers, passed away on April 15 in Lahore. The boy had been stopped and assaulted after confirming he was a Christian. The attack was allegedly in retaliation for the lynching by Christians of two Muslim men suspected of being involved in two church bombings on March 15. “I would say that today we are in the worst period in history for the life of Christians in Pakistan,” said James Channan, O.P., director of the Peace Center in Lahore. “Discrimination, suffering, oppression often become real persecution. Today we ask the government: where is justice?” Mervyn Thomas, director of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, said in a statement released on April 15: “The culture of impunity must end, and religious minorities must be guaranteed the rights of all citizens in Pakistan.”