A Pakistani Muslim sexually assaulted a 6-year-old Christian girl in her neighborhood last week, and her father has said he is pressuring her family to drop the police complaint and settle the case.
Saleem Masih, a poor stonemason and Salvation Army church member, said his daughter was being tutored at the home of a Muslim family in his early 20s named Mohammad Uzair Riaz Dogar when he sexually assaulted her on December 10.
Masih’s daughter had been studying with the suspect’s sister at their house in Chak No. 237-GB village, Jaranwala, Faisalabad district, Punjab, for nearly four months, but on that day, the tutor left her and another student with her brother and went to do some housework.
“The defendant allowed all the Muslim students except for her daughter to leave the room, forced her to go to another room, and raped her,” Masih told Christian Daily International Morning Star News.
When Masih’s daughter did not return home from a Muslim home tutoring center on the same street as her home, her mother went to pick her up and found her daughter sitting near Dogar’s home, crying in agony and her clothes soaked in blood, Masih said.
“My wife was shocked when her daughter told her that the accused had assaulted her,” he said. “Her condition was so bad that she couldn’t even walk, so my wife had to pick her up and take her home.”
Masih said the family called the police and took the girl to a hospital, where tests confirmed she had been sodomized.
Police quickly took Dogar into custody, but Masih said his family was pressuring the Christians to make peace and forcing them to leave the village.
“They had the audacity to say that we are poor Christians. We should be grateful that their son did not rape the child, but only sodomized it. That would bring us dishonor and shame,” he told Christian Daily International Morning Star News. “They also threatened that if we did not reach a settlement with them, they would make our lives miserable and no one would support us.”
Masi said she is determined to continue pursuing justice for her daughter despite threats and intimidation.
“Muslims are willing to commit any crime against us and no one will dare to go against them,” he said. “The same defendant had previously assaulted another Christian girl in the village, but her family remained silent due to threats. However, we will not back down from the case no matter what.”
He said the family was grateful to Christians True Spirit (CTS) for providing them with free legal aid and protection and encouraging them to stand up against influential Muslim families.
CTS Director-General Catherine Sapna said police had charged Dogar under Section 376-iii of the Pakistan Penal Code. This article provides for the death penalty or life imprisonment for rape of minors and mentally or physically disabled persons.
“Many poor Christian families tend to shy away from taking legal action against powerful oppressors for fear of social stigma and risk to their lives, but we were encouraged by the Masi family’s determination to stand up for their children,” Sapna said.
In view of the threats against the Masi family, the CTS has decided to keep the Christian family away from their village home until the police file a complaint in court, she said.
“It is very unfortunate that this family was forced to move from their village a few days before Christmas,” Sapna said. “However, we believe it is important to keep the defendant’s family and friends safe so that they are not forced into any form of settlement.”
Pakistan, where more than 96 percent of the population is Muslim, was ranked eighth on Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List of countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.
