Islamabad, February 27 – A leading minority rights group highlighted another brutal attack on a Christian minority worker in Punjab province, Pakistan, on Friday, stating that religious communities frequently face violence and systematic exploitation across the country.
Citing eyewitness accounts, the Voice of Pakistan Minority (VOPM) stated that Yousaf Masih was attacked in the city of Gujranwala, in Punjab, by four fruit vendors who allegedly struck him with a 2-kilogram iron weight – typically used to balance scales in markets.
According to the rights body, the blow left him bleeding and struggling for his life, while those who rushed to his aid described a scene of chaos and fear – “another chapter in the long story of pain endured by many marginalized workers in Pakistan.”
The VOPM emphasized that the incident was particularly distressing because it could have been prevented. The rights body added that the accused were reportedly previously harassing and verbally abusing Yousaf’s supervisor.
The warning signs were present, it said, but no action was taken, allowing “hatred to escalate into violence.”
“This attack is not an isolated incident but a painful reflection of the daily discrimination, humiliation, and insecurity faced by Christian workers in Pakistan,” the VOPM quoted Pastor Imran Amanat, a local religious leader, as saying.
The rights body noted that Amanat’s remarks resonated across the Christian communities in Punjab, where countless workers, though performing essential services, remain trapped in cycles of exclusion and fear – “punished simply for who they are and what they believe.”
“For decades, Christians across the country have lived with the burden of economic hardship and social stigma. Many of them occupy the lowest rungs of public service – sanitation, cleaning, and sewage maintenance – roles treated with disdain,” the VOPM stated.
“Without proper legal protection or societal respect, they often bear the brunt of violence and exploitation. When the law fails to act quickly or fairly, it sends a dangerous message: that the weakest can be harmed without consequence,” it added.
The rights body further stated, “Justice for Yousaf Masih is more than a courtroom matter; it is a test of conscience for a nation that prides itself on equality and compassion. His suffering is a reminder that faith should never determine one’s safety, and poverty should never define one’s worth.”