Two Christian brothers have been stabbed to death in the Pakistani city of Lahore over a trivial family disagreement.
Javed and Suleman Masih were killed when a pair of Muslim men broke into their home, according to a Catholic charity, Aid to the Church in Need. The murders appear to have arisen from a dispute between two families of differing faiths.
The father of the Christian men said he attempted to sort out the situation in a civil manner prior to the attack taking place — but his efforts were in vain.
“I went to meet Amjad and Naveed’s father, Abdul Majid, and requested him to solve this issue. First of all, Majeed accepted the apology, but later he came with his sons and stabbed both my boys repeatedly,” Riaz Masih told The Express Tribune, according to Premier UK.
Pakistani news network Samaa TV reported that the initial disagreement ensued when Javed told Abdul not to scratch stickers off his car. It is unfathomable to see how such a brutal murder could arise out of something so trivial, and yet this appears to have been the case
Attacks against Christians in Pakistan are extremely common, particularly at the hands of those who follow a different religion. Earlier this year, a young Chrisitan boy was stabbed so viciously by his Islamic classmates that he had to have his kidney removed.
In 2015, a horrific bombing was carried out on a pair of churches in the city, resulting in the death of fifteen people and injuring a further seventy. An offshoot of the radical Islamic terror group, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the attack.
“These are Christian churches,” Pope Francis said in the wake of the killings, according to the Guardian. “Christians are persecuted, our brothers spill their blood simply because they are Christians.”
According to persecution watchdog, Open Doors USA, Pakistan is ranked as the fifth most dangerous place on earth in which to live as a Christian.
“All Christians suffer from institutionalized discrimination, illustrated by the fact that occupations seen as low, dirty and derogatory are officially reserved for Christians,” the charity notes on its fact page, adding that “the country’s notorious blasphemy laws target religious minorities (including Muslim minorities), but affect the Christian minority in particular.”
Do continue to pray for all those persecuted on account of their Christian faith.