Pakistani Christian suffers severe throat injuries after attack by Muslim co-worker

A 22-year-old Pakistani Christian man has been hospitalised after sustaining severe injuries to the throat in an attack by a Muslim co-worker.

Waqas Masih was attacked at his workplace in Sharaqpur, Punjab, where he had been working for six months as a scrap contractor in the cardboard packaging department.

Co-worker Zohaib Iftikhar called Waqas aside on 21 March and asked him if he had converted to Islam. When Waqas said that he had not, slashed his throat with a sharp blade used for cutting cardboard.

Waqas was rushed to hospital in Lahore, where he was reported to be in a stable condition. Police have since arrested Zohaib.

Ryasat Masih, Waqas’s father, said that his son was assaulted for refusing to accept Islam.

Waqas was initially unable to speak because of the severity of his injuries. In a written statement he affirmed that Zohaib falsely accused him of desecrating a copy of an Islamic textbook by touching it with “unclean hands” while gathering scrap material.

“Then, suddenly, he lunged at my throat and slashed it,” his statement continued, adding, “I struggled with a slit throat, tied my shirt around it, and ran to the office. He had planned to kill me.”

Assistant Sub-Inspector Abdur Rehman disclosed the findings of police enquiries concerning the background to the assault. He confirmed that the paper mill owner had “denied any desecration of Islamic texts or photographs, stating that the pages are cleared before disposal”.

Ryasat Masih urged the government to apply the maximum sanction against his son’s attacker and ensure all of Pakistan’s religious minorities are protected. “This is not just an attack on my son; it is an attack on humanity,” he said. “My son was targeted because of his faith.”