In an echo of Asia Bibi’s case, a 22-year-old farm worker has been murdered after washing with water from a Muslim’s well.
Pakistani Christian Saleem Masih died on 28 February, three days after he was tortured by other farm labourers on the orders of a Muslim cattle farm owner.
Saleem had rinsed himself in water pumped from the well after unloading husks from a vehicle. The enraged farm owner accused Saleem of “polluting” the water at Baguyana, a village in Kasur district, Punjab province.
Calling Saleem a “chuhra” (a term of derision commonly taken to mean latrine cleaner) and a “filthy Christian”, the farm owner ordered his men to tie Saleem’s hands and chain his feet before they tortured him with sticks and heated iron rods. They rolled a heavy iron rod over Saleem’s body, causing multiple fractures and internal injuries.