HRCP condemns brutal murder of Christian couple in Punjab

LAHORE: Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Wednesday condemned the execution of Christian couple by violent mob in Kot Radha Kishan.

According to a statement issued here, HRCP stated that it had no intention to interfere in the investigation but demanded that those responsible for the killing be exposed by bringing the facts to light.

HRCP further said that there was no witness who could testify any disrespectful act against the Holy Qur’an. It said what actually led to the barbaric act of killing was a conflict over debt between the deceased couple and the owner of brick-making factory.

It said the couple was brutally tortured and killed and later an attempt was made to cover it up by spreading false news of blasphemy.

AFP adds: A Pakistani Christian bonded labourer and his pregnant wife killed for alleged blasphemy were locked inside a brick-making factory before their murder to prevent them from fleeing their debts, relatives said Wednesday.

Shehzad Masih and Shama Bibi, who was four months pregnant and a mother to three children, were later beaten surrounded by a crowd of up to 1,500 villagers then thrown on top of a lit furnace, multiple witnesses said.

By the time the Muslim mob was done, only charred bones and their discarded shoes remained.

The gruesome incident took place Tuesday in the tiny hamlet of Chak 59 (village 59) near Kot Radha Kishan town, some 60 kilometres (40 miles) southwest of Lahore.
It has sparked protests by Christians and outrage among rights activists, with police arresting 24 suspects Wednesday.

Jawad Qamar, a local police official, said according to initial reports events began to unfold more than a week earlier with the death of Shehzad´s father, a local religious healer.

"When he died, Shehzad´s wife went to his room and cleaned up the mess. There was a trunk in his room, Shehzad´s wife took the things that could be useful and threw the trash in front of her house," said Qamar.

"The garbage collector collected the trash the next day and told a local cleric that he had collected pages of the Koran thrown in front of Shehzad´s house from the trash."

Iqbal Masih, Shehzad´s older bother, told AFP that he and his whole family were bonded workers paying off their debts to the brick kiln owner, a man named Mohammed Yousuf -- an illegal practice branded by rights groups as akin to modern-day slavery.

"We take advance money from the owner and work for him, it has been going on for years. On November 3, the owner had called Iqbal and detained him sensing that he might run away to save his life," he said tearfully.

The allegation against the factory owner was repeated by two other witnesses interviewed by AFP, but denied by his son Khawar Yousuf.

"We don´t know what has happened, the family has been working for us for 20 years and we have never noticed anything bad."

"It´s wrong to say that my father locked them up," he added.