The gunman who took Catholicism in Pakistan last week decided to tie him down and put his wife on the stage after learning about the couple’s faith, sources said.
Adnan Masi, a 34-year-old brick ki worker at Chak 62-GB Changnan Village in Faisalabad district, returned home on a motorcycle when two masked gunmen stopped on the night of March 25, he said.
“They took some money with my phone and muzzle and then started threatening to give them more money,” Masi told Christian Daily International Morning Star News. “When I told them I was a poor Christian and a normal worker in a brick ki, they began whispering something in each other’s ears.”
One of them called and a third man quickly arrived on the motorcycle, he said.
“One of them grabbed my wife’s arm and pulled her into a nearby sugar cane field, while the other two men loosened the strings of my shalwar (basked pants) and used them to tie it to the tree,” Masi said. “Then they chased their accomplices onto the field and raped their wife.”
His cries for help were unprecedented, and after the attack, the man threw a threat and left the scene, he said.
“There is no word that can express the helplessness and pain that I felt during that time,” Masi said. “After a while, my wife appeared out of the field, her clothes torn and tears plunged down her face. She could barely walk to attack, but she slowly approached me and unleashed my hands.
The assailant had hurt his bike, so the couple had to walk on their way home with it. When they finally arrived, their three children and other relatives were waiting for them in the courtyard.
“We didn’t have the courage to tell them what had happened to us, so we just went silent and went to our room,” Masi said.
“Then we decided to pray from God and seek justice, which comforted us and gave us hope,” Masi said.
The next morning he called the police helpline about the crime.
“The police registered the incident, but took action only the following day after the news broke out on the national electronic media,” he said. “Within a day, the Punjab Chief Minister notified the case and ordered an immediate lawsuit, so the police pursued and arrested all three of the accused. The Prime Minister also sent the local police chief to our home and promised that the accused would be dealt with severity.”
Masi expressed his gratitude to Ejaz Augustine, Christian parliamentary member of Punjab Assembly.
Augustine, who previously served as the state minister of human rights and ethnic minority issues, said despite the harsh punishments under Pakistani law, he regretted that such crimes continued despite the severe punishment, despite seeking either a death penalty or prison between 10 and 25 years.
“Minority women are particularly vulnerable to sexual violence because the perpetrators consider them as simple targets,” Augustine told Christian Daily International Morning Star News. Furthermore, the majority of Christians living in Punjab are extremely poor and face several barriers to accessing justice. (Punjab) Chief Minister Mariam Nawaz continues to ensure timely action against such criminals and hopes to provide full justice to affected families. ”
Pakistan, a Muslim with a population of 96%, ranked 8th on the 2025 World Watchlist, the hardest place to become a Christian.
