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June 15, 2009

Pakistan: 11-year-old boy was shot in the head by Taliban while attending church

Topics: Pakistan, Understanding Islam

To be a Christian in Pakistan is to live in fear of being killed by Muslims, especially the Taliban, which demands conversion to Islam or death.. Only a couple of days ago we posted that a young Christian man in Sargodha, Pakistan was raped and brutally murdered in Pakistan for refusing to convert to Islam. Today, Spero News reports an 11-year-old boy was shot in the head while attending church near Karachi when the Taliban deliberately came into the Christian area of the town when they came into town with the aim of forcing Christians to leave the area or pay a tribute imposed by the sharia on non-Muslim minorities.

As in the case of our previous post, the police have still not even registered a report. The attitude in much of Pakistan seems to be - "only a Christian" was murdered - nothing to be concerned about, just move along:

(Spero News) 'I am sorry I could not speak to you then because we were just about to begin the funeral service for Irfan, an 11 year-old boy who was shot in the head. He passed away yesterday. '

That was the opening line of the e-mail from Fr Mario Rodriguez, National Director for the Pontifical Mission Societies in Pakistan. Several hours later, Fr Mario was able to give a few more details as we spoke over the phone.

'Irfan was shot in the head a few days ago when the Taliban attacked the church in Tiasar Town near Karachi, where 300 of the 700 local Christian families are Catholic. He had massive brain injuries and was on life-support when I visited him in the hospital on Friday. He died on Monday and was buried today, Tuesday. His parents are devastated and his mother hasn't eaten or drunk since the incident.'

This is the reality for innocent Catholic families in Pakistan now that the Taliban have taken over the Swat Valley and have imposed sharia law. Fr Mario explained. 'The ruling government gave the Taliban permission to adopt sharia law in the area because the north of the country is a war zone. The two sides signed an agreement giving the Taliban control of the area if they would maintain peace. It was a desperate measure. The Taliban, however, only kept their word for ten days and then advanced beyond the agreed borders. In an effort to limit the Taliban's incursion deeper into Pakistan, troops have today killed 70 insurgents. The Taliban now say that the Government has gone back on its word.'

Continue reading: Pakistan: Christians ready to die for their faith: There's much more..

Hat tip - Kisan

Posted by Abdul at June 15, 2009 6:07 AM

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