Danish Masih, 17, was drugged and held captive for five days. The police acted late, and no one has been arrested. The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace is calling for new legislation to put an end to anti-Christian practices.
Faisalabad (AsiaNews) – Danish Masih, a 17-year-old Christian man from the city of Ghafari, was drugged, kidnapped and tortured by a group of Muslims before he was dumped in a desolate area of Pakistan.
Even though his father reported his son’s disappearance, the police did not act. The victim was eventually able to make it home alone after five days in captivity.
The story began on 6 June when the young man went missing; two days later, his father Daniyal alerted the police about his disappearance, but nothing was done.
At that point the father decided to turn to human rights activist Lala Robin Daniel, who spoke to AsiaNews about the case.
According to what is known so far, Danish was drugged and rendered unconscious before he was kidnapped by a Muslim named Ali Raza and his gang. They held him captive in an unknown place and raped him, then dumped him at a place near Faisalabad, from where the young man was able to go home and inform his family.
Lala Robin Daniel expressed his disappointment at the police’s attitude: “As Christians we are a minority and we are alone. For us there is no justice and no equal rights.”
Although the authorities are now looking for the culprits, no one has been arrested. For their part, Danish's family are demanding justice.
“We are committed and will not spare any of them,” said Lala Robin Daniel. “We shall try our best to bring them to court and see them punished according to the law. We call upon high police officers to cooperate and arrest these monsters as soon as possible,” he added.
Danish’s is not an isolated case. Violence against Christians in Pakistan is commonplace. Amid the rising number of abductions, child sexual abuses, forced conversions and forced marriages, the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) organised a seminar at the Sacred Heart parish in Sahiwal to ask the federal and provincial parliaments to adopt new legislation to put an end to such practices.
CCJP field officer Yuhana Masih explained that the definition of “forced conversion” should be added to state and national legal and legislative frameworks.
The CCJP also wants senior judges to assess a number of conditions for a more progressive Christian marriage and divorce legislation, with effect on the age of consent and civil status of both parties.