by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) - A 74-year-old Presbyterian Christian man in Pakistan is on a ventilator in critical condition after two Islamist neighbors incited a mob to attack him for allegedly burning pages of the Quran, Morning Star News (MSN) reports.
The owner of a shoe factory in Sargodha city’s Mujahid Colony, Punjab Province, Nazeer Gill was reportedly attacked because area Muslims Ayub Gondal and Muhammad Ikraam were jealous of the success of his business and were angered that they had been unable to shut it down, MSN reports.
Gill was burning some waste paper outside his home in Mujahid Colony on Saturday, May 25, when someone threw a copy of the Quran into the fire and turned around and accused him of desecrating it, MSN reports. A mob gathered and sought to kill him, hitting him with bricks, stones, and sticks.
Police arrived in time to take Gill to the hospital, where he was fighting for his life. Gill’s family has gone into hiding for fear of further attacks, MSN reports. Gill’s nephew Irfan, a member of the Presbyterian church, told MSN. “We are all in hiding at the moment, and the police are not allowing any relative to see my uncle. He has sustained serious injuries to his head and body, and we can only pray and hope that he survives. It will be nothing short of a miracle for us,” Irfan said.
In a statement about the situation facing Christians in Pakistan, the Open Doors international Christian advocacy organization says: “Pakistan’s notorious blasphemy laws are often used to target minority groups, but Christians are disproportionately affected. Indeed, roughly a quarter of all blasphemy accusations target Christians, who only make up 1.8% of the population.”
Ruled by a harsh Islamic government, Pakistan ranks seven on the Open Doors World Watch List 2024 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.