On Sunday, early in the afternoon, seventy-five-year-old Reverend William Siraj was travelling home with two other priests after ministering at a church in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Suddenly, their car was stopped by two armed men, who opened fire on the priests.

William Siraj died on the spot while Reverend Patrick Naeem was critically injured. Both were taken to the Lady Reading Hospital.

According to the hospital’s spokesman, Doctor Asim, Reverend William Siraj was declared dead on arrival to the hospital. Reverend Patrick Naeem, who was shot in the stomach and needed to have the bullet removed through surgery, is now in a stable condition.

After the attack, the aggressors ran away on motorbikes. No terrorist organisation has claimed responsibility for the attack; however, it is most likely that it had a religious motive.

The Taliban have a lot of influence in KPK province. Since the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, there have been more and more Islamist attacks in Pakistan, especially in the territory of KPK province.

Source, photo: Stop Persecution of Christians Facebook group