Justice in Pakistan is the urgent demand of Church leaders after a Christian labourer was found hanged at a farm outbuilding, amid suspicions that he was tortured to death. The body of 22-year-old Catholic Marqas Masih was discovered outside the city of Sargodha, in Punjab. While the farm owner claimed it was a suicide, the Christian community has refused the official account, asserting instead that he was murdered.
Demanding justice in Pakistan amid signs of torture
When the family prepared the body for burial, they noticed cuts, bruises, and marks consistent with torture. After their pleas to the police went unanswered, more than 100 Christians blocked a main road into Sargodha with Marqas Masih’s body. A subsequent postmortem confirmed signs of strangulation and multiple abrasions to the chest and hip.
The National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP), an advocacy organization supported by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), has called for a government-led investigation.
“The authorities should not leave Christians to be treated as second class citizens. We should be treated as equal citizens. We demand a fully transparent investigation”.
Rising tensions and religious hatred
Naeem Yousaf Gill, NCJP executive secretary, noted that the family was subjected to anti-Christian hate speech, including the derogatory term “chura”, while Masih worked at the farm. This tragedy occurred in the same region where Christians were forced into lockdown in 2024 following the mob lynching of Nazir Masih Gill over blasphemy accusations.
NCJP chairman Bishop Samson Shukardin, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Pakistan, joined the call for action:
“[We] jointly call on the authorities to conduct a full investigation into the incident, bring the facts to light and ensure that justice is delivered to this vulnerable community”.
The farm landlord and another man have been arrested in connection with the case.
