Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI
Peace Committee of Pakistan
Islamabad (Agenzia Fides) – Presbyterian pastor Kamran Naz, who was wounded by gunfire yesterday, September 21, in the Iqbal Town district of Islamabad, miraculously survived the attempted murder. As Fides learned from local sources and eyewitnesses, Pastor Kamran Naz was traveling from Gujranwala (his home) to Islamabad on Sunday morning around 7:00 a.m. to hold his usual Sunday service. He was traveling in his car, accompanied by his mother, when he arrived near the Iqbal Town bus stop in Islamabad, where two unknown young men (around 25 years old) approached him on a motorcycle. One of them pulled out a gun and shot the pastor, wounding him in the right leg. He then fired a second shot at head height, but missed. The attackers then fled. Several men who witnessed the incident immediately took Pastor Kamran to the emergency room at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences and called the police. While still in the hospital, an Islamabad police officer filed a First Information Report (FIR) with the pastor for attempted murder and initiated an investigation. The pastor of the Presbyterian Christian Church in Pakistan had previously received multiple death threats, which he had reported to the police on several occasions. Due to this situation, he was forced to leave his residence in Islamabad and move with his family to Gujranwala for safety reasons. Among the accusations made by his former threateners was that he was “proselytizing among Afghan refugees.” “Violence, harassment, and targeted attacks against Christian leaders are deeply disturbing and unacceptable in a civilized society. We call on the Federal Minister of the Interior to immediately take strict measures to arrest and bring those responsible to justice,” Father Lazar Aslam OFM Cap, a member of the Peace Committee of Pakistan, which brings together Christian and Muslim religious leaders, told Fides about the incident. “We strongly condemn this attempted assassination and promise to support him and his family during this difficult time. We will continue to raise our voices against violence and for the human rights of all religious communities in Pakistan,” the religious declared on behalf of the committee members. The representatives of the various religious communities demand “greater protection, especially for pastors, priests, and other Christian leaders in Pakistan.” “It is the government’s responsibility to ensure the safety of religious minorities,” he emphasized, calling for “justice, dignity, and security.” Father Aslam concludes: “It must be said that, in the face of difficulties and suffering, the Christian community in Pakistan continues to cling to hope, which is Christ himself, entrusting their lives to the Lord, praying and working for peaceful coexistence. The resilience of the faithful is a testimony of faith, and at the same time, we hope that the call for justice will not go unheard.” (PA) (Agenzia Fides, 22/9/2025)
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