International Christian Concern
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Email: icc@persecution.org
 

For Immediate Release
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Bold Roman Catholic Pakistani Priest Gunned Down and Killed

Strong Advocate for Catholic School

7/11/03 5:08:21 PM) The Washington-DC based human rights group, International Christian Concern (ICC) www.persecution.org has just become aware of the heinous murder of a priest in Pakistan.  While spending a quiet evening at home, Roman Catholic priest, Reverend  Father George Ibrahim,38, was brutally murdered  in the early hours of  July 5 at his parish residence of the Catholic Church at Renala Khurd, district Okara, which is located 180 miles south of Islamabad.

Upon hearing noises close to the church building and detecting movement outside the parish, Reverend Ibrahim informed his cook that he was going outside to check out the suspicious activity.  Once outside the parish, Rev. Ibrahim had no protection and was brutally gunned down by five armed assailants.  The cook heard the shots and ran outside only to see the men fleeing the church property and his beloved priest lying dead in a pool of blood .   The cook immediately called the police and local Christian elders of Renala Khurd.  Ibrahim’s body was taken to the local hospital where he was declared dead from six bullet wounds.

According to the Christians of Renala Khurd, Rev. Fr. George Ibrahim had received many threats because he was very bold and outspoken about the betterment of Christians in the area. The motive for the murder seems to be connected with Fr. Ibrahim’s success in having his Catholic school  denationalized.  For many years, the Catholic school had been under government control and had recently been returned back to the management of the church.  This was not acceptable to the local Muslim community.  

One believer in Renala Khurd said, “There are wings of a few Islamic militant organizations who do not wish Christians to be prosperous.”  The Catholic Church and Christian elders of the area have declared this tragic incident an act of brutal terrorism.

Reverend George Ibrahim was buried in his own native Christian village of Khushpur, district Faisalabad.

A police report has been filed but there have been no arrests.

ICC urges the Pakistani government to establish a judicial commission to probe into this tragic incident. The Pakistani government must bring the perpetrators of this murder to justice.  When the government turns a blind eye to cases such as these, terrorism increases.

ICC is a Washington-DC based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide. ICC delivers humanitarian aid, trains and supports persecuted pastors, raises awareness of the problem of persecution in the US Church and is an advocate for the persecuted to the US Government.

For additional information or for an interview, contact ICC at 301-989-1708