A 22-year-old Christian man was hospitalized on March 21 in Lahore, Punjab province, Pakistan. His serious injuries on his throat were treated, and he is under hospital care in a stable state. His co-worker, a Muslim man who was shift-in-charge, attacked him with a knife, slitting the Christian man’s throat.

The incident occurred because the victim was accused of desecrating Islamic texts. The young man also claims that his co-worker pressured him to accept Islam, but he resisted. The victim’s family said that Muslims often call out Christians to join Islam, but most of the time they just do not respond; however, they never thought that it could turn this violent.

The victim gave a written statement to Humanitarian Action for Rights and Development Society (HARDS), a Christian non-governmental organization in Pakistan. In the statement he wrote, he said that he was accused of desecrating sacred Islamic texts with his “unclean hands,” and then the attack occurred. He stated that,

“I struggled with a slit throat, tied my shirt around it, and ran to the office. He had planned to kill me.”

The police arrested the attacker, but despite the victim’s testimony, they concluded that the attack happened because of a personal dispute and had no connection to forced conversion or desecration of sacred texts. The executive director of HARDS, who is legally helping the Christian family, claims that the police are siding with the perpetrator.

“They have to either convert to Islam or risk blasphemy accusations and death.”

He commented on the situation that many Christians face in the Muslim-majority Pakistan.

Source: UCAnews