Two Christian sisters who disappeared in Pakistan two months ago have been found murdered.
Abida Bibi, 23, and her sister Sajida, 25, disappeared in Lahore after going shopping on November 26. Last week, police located their bodies in a drainage ditch.
Muhammad Mumtaz and Muhammad Naeem Butt, sister’s supervisors at a pharmaceutical factory, have been arrested in connection to the murders.
“They often complained about being harassed by two Muslim coworkers,” Rani Bibi, the sisters’ mother, told International Christian Concern (ICC).
“However, I asked them to ignore the harassment and continue their jobs. I was worried that they might lose their jobs if they complained to the administration against Muhammad Naeem and Muhammad Mumtaz, the kidnappers and killers.”
Investigator Iftikhar Hussain told reporters that the accused confessed to kidnapping the women and demanded they convert to Islam and marry them. Both women were already married.
“During interrogation, Naeem confessed that they had abducted the sisters, and after keeping them hostage for a few days for satisfying their lust, had slit their throats and thrown their bodies into the drain,” Hussain said.
Open Doors USA ranks Pakistan as the fifth most dangerous country for Christians in 2021. Violence against Christians is primarily against women who are often the target of forced marriages and conversions.
Earlier this month, a 44 year-old man who kidnapped, raped and forced a 13-year-old Christian girl into an Islamic “marriage” was granted bail. As many as 1,000 forced marriages occur in Pakistan annually.
