Christian Father of Four Shot Dead by Muslim Gunman During Religious Pilgrimage in Pakistan

Afzal Masih, 42, was shot dead early Sunday around 1:30 a.m. local time near the city of Farooqabad while on his way to the Catholic Feast of the Nativity of Mary near a shrine in Mariamabad, which means the “City of Mary,” Christian investigators told Worthy News.

A second Christian man — Afzal’s younger brother — was critically injured in the attack, Christians said. They were among an estimated 2 million Pakistani Catholics attending the annual feast, according to organizers.

The First Information Report (FIR) by police, needed to launch a criminal investigation, said Masih and his family “were traveling in their own vehicle when a Muslim man on a motorcycle began zigzagging in front of them on the road near Farooqabad.”

When Masih stopped to confront him, a heated argument allegedly broke out.

“Shortly afterward, the pilgrims’ vehicle suffered a punctured tire, forcing them to stop at a local puncture repair shop,” confirmed a Christian advocacy group.

“It was there that the same motorcyclist returned and opened fire without warning, fatally shooting Afzal Masih and seriously injuring his younger brother,” the group told the media.

The suspect was publicly named as Muhammad Waqas, but no arrests had been made by Monday, prompting “deep concern and anger among Pakistan’s Christian community,” said LEAD founder Mushtaq Sardar Gill.

Pastor Imran Amanat, director of LEAD Ministries Pakistan, said the killing “is not just an isolated crime” but “reflects a growing pattern of hate against peaceful Christians exercising their constitutional right to religious freedom.”

Gill, a human rights lawyer, urged the government to act swiftly. “We demand justice for Afzal Masih’s family and immediate protection for Christians across Pakistan, especially during religious events like the Mariamabad pilgrimage,” he said.

Human rights advocates argue that alleged “police inaction” emboldens perpetrators and “creates a culture of impunity.”

Despite constitutional protections for religious freedom, Pakistan’s Christian minority continues “to face systemic discrimination, mob violence, and legal persecution,” Gill noted.

Christian attorney Kashif Nemat, head of the Good Samaritan Society for Development and Rehabilitation, condemned the attacks as religiously motivated, noting that “in most cases of violence against Christians, the perpetrators believe that they can get away with anything, even murder, since their victims are too weak to oppose them.”

Afzal Masih worked as a rickshaw driver while his mother Shagufta Bibi worked as a cleaner at a local school, said his son Bilal Afzal, 18.

The family has no financial means to pursue justice, with Bilal pleading: “We can only plead the government for justice as we have no financial means to pursue the case.”

“By far, the most Christians live in Punjab Province, so many incidents of persecution, discrimination, and intolerance occur there,” said advocacy group Open Doors. “Next to Punjab, the province of Sindh is also notorious for being a centre for bonded labour, which affects many Christians,” it added.

“Many believe the attack was intended to intimidate and terrorize Christian pilgrims, particularly during a time of spiritual significance,” Gill explained to Worthy News.