Motivation? Revenge: “the attack followed an attempt by a Christian to file a First Instance Report with police against two Muslims for robbery and attempted rape.”
“Pakistan: One woman dead in attack on Christians,” from Compass Direct News, March 9 :
Would-be rapist instigates attack in response to charges leveled against him.
ISTANBUL, March 9 (Compass Direct News) — Gun and club attacks on a Presbyterian church and neighboring homes in the predominantly Christian area of a village in Pakistan last week killed one woman and left 16 people wounded. Seeking revenge for a robbery complaint that a Christian filed against him, local Muslim Waseem Butt on March 2 led groups of his friends and family members in indiscriminate attacks aimed at the Christian community in Sangu-Wali, village, near Aroop town in Gujranwala district, reported advocacy group Sharing Life Ministries Pakistan (SLMP).
Groups of between five and 15 Muslims arriving from different directions attacked the church and area homes, said Sohail Johnson, head of SLMP. During the violence, 45-year-old Shakeela Bibi sustained bamboo rod blows to the head and died before reaching the hospital. SLMP and the Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement reported that the attack followed an attempt by a Christian to file a First Instance Report with police against two Muslims for robbery and attempted rape.
“The death of my wife is an irreparable loss to me and my children,” Manzoor Masih, Bibi’s husband, told SLMP. “I am concerned that Muslims are very strong here, we are poor, and we can not afford enmity with them. They will kill us too.”