Christian Sanitation Worker Tortured in Pakistan

Upset with a Christian sanitation worker in Lahore, Pakistan on Saturday (May 25) beat him and left him chained in blistering heat for hours, sources said.

Hussain Masih, father-in-law of Yasir Masih, said he found the 35-year-old sanitation worker in the Gujjarpura area of Lahore chained to a chair in the street.

“Yasir Masih’s entire body was badly bruised, and he was chained to a chair,” Hussain Masih told. “When he regained some strength, he told us that Malik Khadim Hussain, a resident of Gujjarpura, his son and three others had held him hostage and tortured him for not immediately obeying their order to collect the garbage and sweep the doorstep of their house.”

Yasir Masih’s primary responsibility was to clean streets, but he had customarily granted the Muslim family’s requests to clean their area, the Christian’s father-in-law said.

“Masih told [Malik] Hussain that he would do the needful as soon as he finished his official work and got busy,” Hussain Masih said. “After some minutes, when Masih went to Hussain’s house, he told him to go on the roof and clean it. When Masih went to the roof, Hussain, his sons and the other men attacked him with iron rods, punches and kicks.”

The Muslim family then chained him to a chair and kept him hostage for hours, Hussain Masih said.

“When they left Masih alone, he found a chance to escape, still chained to the chair,” he said. “He tripped down the stairs and dragged himself out of the gate into the street, where he collapsed. Some passersby recognized him, and this is how we also got information about his whereabouts.”

Hussain Masih said his son-in-law had left for work around 5 a.m., but a few hours later his supervisor arrived at their home saying he had not arrived at his designated work area in the Gujjarpura area of Lahore.

“We got worried and started searching for him,” Hussain Masih said. “Around 5 p.m., someone informed us that Masih had been found chained to a chair and was lying unconscious in a street in Gujjarpura.”

He said that when they reached the site, they were shocked to at the condition of Masih, father of four children.

Yasir Masih’s family and friends later protested in front of the Lahore Press Club, demanding registration of a First Information Report (FIR) and arrest of the suspects. Senior police officials assured them of action, and police later arrested Malik Hussain and two others, though his sons were still at large.