On 4 April, we asked for prayer on behalf of a 12-year-old girl who had been kidnapped and, after being recovered, was placed in a women’s shelter rather than being returned to her father.
Young Hoorab Masih had been abducted by two local shopkeepers in December and then forced to convert to Islam and marry one of her kidnappers.
Hoorab’s father, Basharat, was a single dad of four who did not have the funds to fight the case in court to have his daughter returned home.
Thankfully, she was finally allowed to return to her family in late March. Kidnapper Muhammad Usman confessed to the fraudulent marriage after his arrest. Both he and his accomplice, Muhammad Mustafa, were arrested.
Sadly, Basharat Masih was murdered on 24 April while taking part in a community pigeon flying competition. His sister, Maryam Bibi, heard screaming and rushed to see a group of assailants attacking Basharat. The chairman of Human Rights Focus Pakistan, Naveed Walter, believes that the murder was committed in revenge for Basharat’s part in bringing his daughter’s captors to justice. The family has continued to receive threats, even after the court case.
Lamenting over the situation, Mr Walter said: “Basharat Masih was killed because he was Hoorab’s father. We live in a society where a father who demands justice for his daughter is killed.”
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