Source: www.worthynews.com
Date: May 16, 2025
by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent
SIALKOT, PAKISTAN (Worthy News) – Authorities have detained a suspect in the May 12 killing of a young Christian man in Pakistan’s Punjab province after hundreds of Christians demanded justice, sources told Worthy News Wednesday.
Kashif Masih, son of James Masih, was “brutally tortured in [the city of] Sialkot, Punjab, in what appears to be a hate-motivated crime,” explained Christian human rights lawyer Sardar Mushtaq Gill.
The main suspect, identified publicly as Malik Irfan, has been detained, according to police.
Reports indicate that the victim Kashif lost his life on Sunday due to “extreme violence” and inhumane torture, Christians suggested.
“The accused was accompanied by his son, two nephews, and some unidentified individuals. They severely beat Kashif, tortured him in every possible way, broke his ribs, inflicted a deep wound to his head, and horrifyingly drove nails into his genitals and legs,” Gill said.
Footage obtained by Worthy News seemed to confirm this assessment.
Gill stressed the killing of the young man was “another tragic and alarming incident underscoring the plight of religious minorities in Pakistan”, a mainly Muslim nation.
Roughly hundreds of Christians have been protesting in the area of the killing to demand justice and an end to ongoing violence against Christians, according to footage obtained by Worthy News.
It was the latest in a series of killings of Christians linked to radical Muslims.