Mehwish Bhatti BPCA Officer standing by the blood soaked bench were Adnan was killed.
A Pakistani Christian boy of 17 years has become the third Christian youth in three months to have been killed by a Muslim however circumstances surrounding
the murder are extremely unclear.
Adnan Masih, was a resident of G7/1 Islamabad and was unemployed and a former drug addict, his father was sanitary cleaner for CDA Islamabad.
Only two months earlier Adnan had found faith and had started to attend Pentecostal Church Islamabad having turned his back on a severe drug addiction
completely. He was seeking new employment and held huge confidence for his new future with God.
His family which included his father, mother, three sisters and two brothers were buoyed by the change in his life. They had all been praying
for him to gain a better understanding of God and had always believed he would find himself and return to his faith at his appointed time.
Komal his eldest sibling a married sister of 24 years, said:
“The change in his attitude and confidence was palpable and extremely refreshing for us as a family. I cried for joy when he found God and knew that his life was going to transform in such a way that he would never look back at his old life of destitution.”
Adnan was a popular young man despite his drug addiction and had many friends from within the local Muslim and Christian community. At
one point he had been going out every night and returning home late but all that had changed. In fact in recent months he was so committed to
working at his local church that he was growing a very good reputation.
At 7:15pm, on 2nd November while Adnan’s family were out, his friend Shani (17 yrs) who lives in the same street as Adnan came to his door
and began shouting for him to come downstairs to meet with him.
Adnan sent his younger nephew downstairs to tell Shani that he was busy and would not be able to meet with him and come out. However Shani was
not going to take no for an answer, he repeatedly called Adnan down and refused to go till he met with him.
Adnan came down to tell Shani that he could not go out with him. However Shani responded by saying that Adnan had been ignoring him for a few
days and he would not leave till they went out. Shani remonstrated with Adnan suggesting they go out for a meal and at this point the conversation
which was overheard by the nephew of Adnan was peaceful.
Adnan had come down the stairs barefooted and had asked his nephew to bring his shoes from upstairs, after putting his shoes on Adnan and Shani got
in a taxi that was waiting outside their home. The nephew could see a third person in the vehicle who was later found to be a Muslim colleague
named Ali from neighbouring Allama Iqbal Town.
Later at 9pm the three friends were seen at a local park near Sitara Market in G7/2 at the end of Adnan’s street. After this nothing is known about
the whereabouts of the trio for the rest of the evening.
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The blood soaked bench where Adnan had his throat slit by a metal object.
Later at 12:30 Adnan’s mother heard a knock on the door. When she went to open the door she was met by four policemen who asked where her son
Adnan was and she told them he was out and did not know where he was.
The policemen produced a picture of Adnan and asked if the image was of her son, she replied ‘yes this is my son’. Distressed by the presence
of the police who were asking about her son, she asked if he had done anything wrong and where he was.
The police told her that he had not done anything wrong but had been found dead in a local park and that she was required to go with them to Polyclinic
Hospital Islamabad to identify her son.
On hearing the news the mother started screaming and crying hysterically which brought all her family, friends and neighbours to her side.
The Police were advised by the family that the father and an uncle would travel with them to the hospital. When they go there however the family
discovered that the corpse of Adnan had been sent for a post-mortem and advised the family to return to the hospital the following morning at 11am
to identify the body.
The distraught and very hysterical family spent the whole night informing their close relatives and friends of the death of Adnan and many people gathered
at their home.
The next day all the elders of the family travelled to the hospital by taxi and arrived by 10am. They waited for one hour and then the dead body
which was covered in a shroud was provided to the family. The family was not permitted to open the shroud until they left the hospital grounds
so the body was placed in the back of an ambulance and revealed at the home of Adnan’s family.
Unveiling the corpse showed how Adnan’s through had been slit open with a knife and stitches could be seen affixing the head to the neck of Adnan,
as doctors used this to stop the bleeding. Fortunately for the family the face of Adnan had not been scarred or damaged and the family prepared
his body for burial and placed him to rest by 5:30pm.
At this point local police provided no statement to the family to advise them of any investigation and what they thought might have happened to murdered
Adnan.
Later in the same evening police arrested Shani from his home which caused a real stir in the local community. However the family still had not
been contacted by the police.
The police then started a search for Ali but could not find him so they arrested his brother. Whilst under the custody of the police during a
severe interrogation the brother revealed the location of Ali who was hiding in the town of Gola Sharif with a friend.
At this point the family contacted the local police as they became aware of the arrest of Shani and were told that the two men had been arrested as
they were the last people to have been seen with Adnan whilst he was still alive.
The family have now been attending Aabpara Police Station every day since the two men were taken into custody, They have been informed that the
men are on a three-day remand until tomorrow (08.11.2017), however statements have not yet been taken from the boys. The family are really concerned
about this failure as it is now a week after the murder
Police have informed the family that they will get a copy of the post mortem report in a day or two, and have been informed that Adnan had 1800 rupees
(£13) on him at the time of his death, which was money given by the father for repair of his motorbike.
The father Shaukat Masih explained to us that he had bought the motorcycle on hire purchase for his son, who he loved greatly, he said:
“Adnan could sometimes be very difficlut but he was turning his life around. I bought him the bicycle in recognition of the great transformation God had made in his life. This was a reward for a prodigal son who had returned to me.
“The murderers who killed my son will have to bear God’s wrath, but Adnan will now be in heaven with our Father and this gives me some solace.
“As much as my heart breaks here on earth without him, especialy when I think of the cruel and painful nature of his death, I acknowledge that he is in a beter place then our sinful world.”
Mehwish Bhatti, BPCA Lead Officer, said:
“The death of another teenager has been very painful to our community. Worse still with the death so close to the family home the family have been extremely traumatised. Please pray for them.”
Wilson Chowdhry, Chairman of the British Pakistani Christian Association, said:
“We are going to demand a full update from the police tomorrow. The number of Christian teenagers being killed in Pakistan by irate Muslims is
increasing at an alarming rate. We believe it is because of a perceived impunity and will not let the attackers get away from their guilt.
“BPCA categorically state at this juncture that Pakistan is no longer safe for minorities and we hope the rest of the world realises soon, so that
help will come for these beleagured people.”
The family are faithful to God and have taken great comfort in the fact that Adnan gave his life to Christ before dying. However, they still want to pursue justice so that others do not fall foul to the evil machinations of these killers.
They have asked for help with the cost of a solicitor and with help with losts wages while the father is taking time off work to hold his family together and challenge for justice. If you would like to help this family please donate by clicking (here)
Mehwish Bhatti and Adnan’s family.