15-Year-Old Christian Boy Dies Agonizing Death after Being Set On Fire

Pakistan: 15-Year-Old Christian Boy Dies Agonizing Death after Being Set On Fire
By Dan Wooding, Founder of ASSIST Ministries and ASSIST News Service
LAHORE, PAKISTAN (ANS—April 15, 2015) -- Nouman Masih, a 15-year-old boy who was set alight by two masked men in Lahore, Pakistan, on Friday, April 10, after identifying himself as a Christian, has died today (April 15), of his terrible injuries.
The shocking attack took place when two young Muslims, on their way to Friday prayers at their mosque, stopped the boy in a market in Gulshan Ravi, Lahore, and asked him what religion he belonged to.
When the boy, who lives with his paternal uncle, and was coming from a tailor shop where he was in training, revealed that he was a Christian, they beat him up, threw kerosene on him, and set him ablaze.
The teenager was able to say that he ran – still on fire – until he reached a mound of sand which he rolled around in. Nouman said some members of his local community helped him put out his burning clothes by pouring more sand on top of him, Breitbart news network reported.
He sustained burns to 55 percent of his body and died in the early hours of today (Wednesday, April 15, 2015).
This terrible incident comes less than a month after suicide bombings by the Pakistani Taliban at two churches in Lahore left 14 people dead and 78 wounded. This attack led to widespread protests in the region calling for better protection for Pakistan's Christians.
Mervyn Thomas, Chief Executive of Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), said, “We extend our heartfelt condolences to Nouman Masih’s family and reiterate our call for the perpetrators of this deplorable attack to be apprehended. A culture of impunity must end if religious minorities are to be guaranteed their rights as citizens in Pakistan.”
Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is a Christian organization working for religious freedom through advocacy and human rights, in the pursuit of justice.
Photo caption: The young boy pictured in the hospital before he died. (Photo British Pakistani Christian Association).
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