When a Muslim abductor tried to kidnap and rape two Christian girls aged 10 and 9 yrs of age the reaction of the younger child saved both sisters, however the abductor fled the scene of the crime and is still on the loose.
On the evening of 21st November 2018, during celebrations of the birth of Muhammad (Rabi ul Awal) Sonia (10 yrs) was playing with her sister Laiba (9 yrs) in the grounds nearby their home at Chak 62 Bhagywala Matiyani district Faisalabad, while their parents were at home.
During their playtime an unknown large man of around 35 years old grabbed both of the girls by their wrists and dragged them screaming and kicking into a house on the corner of their street that had been vacant for several years. Because of the late hour no-one else was on the street and the abduction occurred without witnesses. Some witnesses heard the screaming but assumed it was children playing and did not respond.
The assailant forcibly pushed the two girls to the floor and tried to undress Laiba calling her a filthy Christian Churee (derogatory name for Christians), he told her she would be raped as Christians girls were for the pleasure of Muslim men. Unfortunately for the man brave Laiba bit him hard on the hand and when he flinched she took the opportunity to run away and escape his clutches. Seeing her sister run spurred Sonia into action and seeing that both girls were escaping the would-be-rapist turned his attention to Sonia and grabbed her – realising that Laiba was too far away for him to re-abduct.
The younger sister Laiba anxiously hurried home (2 doors away) to get help for her terrified elder sister who was still being pulled away to an uncertain fate by the sexual predator. After informing her parents of what happened they ran to capture the man and to rescue Sonia. Their shouting in the streets resulted in many other villagers joining them in their pursuit of the attacker.
Many shouting villagers rushed towards the abandoned property that the abductor had imprisoned Sonia in ready to detain him and call the police. However, from some distance away after hearing and viewing the numerous people coming to Sonia’s aid, the assailant left the girl there and fled the scene of the crime. He escaped through a gap in a rear wall and despite a chase by the villagers the unknown man got away.
Her frantic parents rushed to check on Sonia and found her safe and despite her torn clothes the assailant had not managed to rape her.
The father went directly to Milat Police Station, Faisalabad and ensured that they registered a crime on a First Information Report (FIR) Faisalabad, a medical was also taken and the parents have asked us to state that the report found that she is still a virgin.
We met the traumatised victims and when we asked Sonia and Laiba what the remembered about the man who attempted to rape them they responded that they did not know who the person was and could not recognize him, as his face was covered with cloth.
When we asked them if the man was local to the area they had no idea because of the restricted view of the culprit’s face.
Shakeel Masih (35 yrs) and his wife have been working in a local brick kiln for 6 years and he has stated that his owner, Mohammad Shahbaz, has insisted that he will be handling all matters regarding tis investigation. We have offered a solicitor and the family have agreed to contact us should it be necessary for the progress of this case.
BPCA officer Mehwish Bhatti called Shakeel Masih personally and prayed along with the family. She will be making regular visits to the home of the children to provide bible-based trauma counselling as the children are exhibiting signs of PTSD.
This year the killer of Zanaib Ansari (7 yrs) who was found to be operating a child pornography ring and conducting snuff films was executed in the presence of her father (click here). Previous to her he had slayed 13 other little girls who all lost their lives in a similar manner. Local Police had overlooked and ignored their deaths despite remonstrations from parents until the death of Zanaib triggered national outrage.
Zanaib’s father was a devout Muslim who was on Haj (pilgrimage to Mecca) with is wife when the murder transpired. He used his clout and religious rigor to go after justice for his slain young daughter. The vulnerable Christian population find that after such lecherous assaults they rarely get justice. According to Muslim charity, Movement of Solidarity and Peace 700 Christian girls are kidnapped, raped and forced into Islamic marriage every year and the authorities have even been complicit in these abductions (click here).
Wilson Chowdhry, Chairman of the British Pakistani Christian Association, said:
“On January 4th it will be exactly one year since 7 year old Zainab was abducted, raped and murdered by Imran Ali who was involved in the Pakistan snuff movies arena.
“Despite her death and the death of many other children abducted in Pakistan it seems few lessons have been learnt by Pakistani authorities and parents of children.
“Considering the extremely high risk of such abductions of Pakistani Christian children we are creating a learning programme for Christian families on safe parenting and will share our training at church meetings and within communities.
“We can only pray that the corrupt Pakistani security forces improve their standards of investigation and enforcement of such crimes.
“We also need to help extricate vulnerable Christians from the brick kilns of Pakistan that they might more forcibly pursue justice for their children.”
BPCA is looking into the possibility of emancipating the family of Shakeel Masih that we might help pursue an improved investigation into the abduction of the two brave girls.
British Pakistani Christian Association, continues to provide advocacy and humanitarian aid to Christians in Pakistan and the Pak-Christian diaspora. We cannot do it without your help please donate by clicking (here)
