Christian health worker murdered in the street in Pakistan
"Those who are already doubly marginalized are now being targeted. Perhaps health workers' growing awareness of social rights and respect does not sit well with extremists.
" In Pakistan, Pervaiz Masih, father of 4 children and a Christian, was shot in the street on April 12 by armed men who arrived on motorbikes.
Police say he was killed by 13 bullets near the Jamia mosque in Turbat, Balochistan province. His son Charles Masih called the killing "an ethnic murder".
"Baloch groups who kill Punjabis without warning on the main roads to send a message. No one stops them. We rest our case on God who teaches us to remain tolerant in the face of oppression."
Pervaiz Masih is the second Christian health worker murdered this month in Pakistan. Kashif Masih was shot on April 1 in Peshawar. Sharafat Shareef, executive secretary of Caritas Quetta, deplores a context of inflation and unemployment.
"People are going crazy over rising food inflation and unemployment. The government should protect poor sanitation workers, who are forced to work on a contract basis and earn less than minimum wage."
For former lawmaker Mary James Gill, "those who are already doubly marginalized are now being targeted". “Perhaps the growing awareness of health workers about social rights and respect does not sit well with extremists,” she says.
MC
