‘Brutal execution’ of 3 American Christians in Pakistan

August 31, 2010

Three American Christians who were providing humanitarian relief in the flood-ravaged Swat valley in northern Pakistan were murdered on August 24 or 25, according to local sources. The Fides news agency described the murder of the volunteers as a “brutal execution.”

The militant organization Tehreek-e-Shariat-e-Nafaz-e-Mohammadi (Movement for the Enforcement of Islamic Law), which the Pakistani government banned in 2002, is suspected in the attacks. Government officials have not yet released the names of the victims or their organization, according to a local source, because “they do not want to create panic in the world of humanitarian organizations and among donors, especially during this time of international mobilization for aid that is taking place.”

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has recommended that the US State Department place the Pakistan on its list of “countries of particular concern” because of egregious violations of religious freedom. The State Department has disregarded the recommendation.

Only 0.07% of the Islamic republic’s 159.6 million people are Catholic, according to Vatican statistics.

 

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Further information:

• Three volunteers killed were Americans from one of the 1,500 foreign NGOs (Fides)
• Three murdered humanitarian workers were Christian foreigners (Fides)
• Swat, Pakistan (Wikipedia)
• Tehreek-e-Shariat-e-Nafaz-e-Mohammadi (Wikipedia)
• Countries of Particular Concern (USCIRF)
• Countries of Particular Concern (US Department of State)