By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent, Worthy News
LAHORE, PAKISTAN (Worthy News) – Asher Atray, the young Christian lineman of Pakistan’s Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) who was abducted last month, has been killed, Christians confirmed Tuesday.
Christians told Worthy News they are mourning the “brutal murder” of Atray, who was kidnapped on April 24 in the Batapur area of Lahore, Pakistan’s second-largest city.
“His body was recently recovered from a canal after Muhammad Zain, the main suspect, confessed to the killing,” said Christian human rights lawyer Sardar Mushtaq Gill.
The suspect “admitted to dumping both Asher and his motorcycle in the water to conceal the crime,” added Gill.
He said the advocacy group he founded, LEAD Ministries Pakistan, has strongly condemned the murder, calling it a “desperate and tragic act” that “highlights the ongoing threats faced by religious minorities in the country.”
Pastor Imran Amanat, a senior leader of LEAD Ministries, also expressed sorrow and outrage. “This is not just a crime against one young man—it is a crime against the values of justice and humanity,” he said in a statement sent to Worthy News. “Asher was a dedicated worker and an innocent soul. We demand justice and stronger protections for Christians in Pakistan.”
URGING PRAYERS
Christians have linked the killing by the suspected radical Muslim to his faith in Christ.
Pastor Imran said he had urged “the Christian community and global supporters to pray” for Asher’s grieving family. “Our hearts are broken. We stand with his family and ask for your prayers during this time of unimaginable loss,” he stressed.
LEAD Ministries asked Pakistani authorities “to ensure a transparent investigation and hold the perpetrator fully accountable.”
The tragic case has renewed calls for “improved legal safeguards for Pakistan’s Christian population, who continue to face discrimination and violence” in the mainly Muslim nation, Gill said.
The killing of Asher, who was in his late 30s, comes just days after another Christian young man, Gulfam Masih, 19, died of gunshot wounds in the Ghulam Muhammad Abad area of the city of Faisalabad, according to police documents seen by Worthy News.
Gill told Worthy News at the time that Muslims riding a motorcycle, who apparently knew the teenager was a Christian, “started to use abusive words.”
FURING PISTOL
Soon after, one person, named publicly as Rana Ejaz, fired his pistol, hitting Masih, who was also on a motorcycle with his uncle, said Gill and police.
Soon after, the Christian teenager died in the hospital, Worthy News learned Saturday.
LEAD Ministries said it is “actively engaged in advocacy for persecuted Christians and is also involved in church planting across Pakistan.”
Through legal aid, public awareness campaigns, and establishing faith communities, “LEAD seeks to protect, strengthen, and uplift Christians facing systemic oppression.”
Pakistan ranks 8th on the annual World Watch List of 50 nations where advocacy group Open Doors says Christians face most persecution for their faith.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
The Trump administration has finalized a sweeping reciprocal trade agreement with Taiwan, confirming a 15 percent U.S. tariff rate on Taiwanese imports while securing broad new market access and purchase commitments for American goods.
Democrats are applauding White House border czar Tom Homan’s Thursday announcement that immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota will end next week.
Democrats in the U.S. Senate tanked the Homeland Security full-year funding bill in a last-ditch vote Thursday, all but guaranteeing a partial government shutdown starting Saturday.
Mourners in a remote Canadian town grappled Thursday with the aftermath of one of the country’s deadliest school shootings in decades, as families, survivors and leaders reacted to the tragedy that left eight victims — most of them children — dead, along with the 18-year-old suspect.
A gunman who opened fire at a school in southern Thailand’s Hat Yai city on Wednesday wounded a teacher and a student before being detained, authorities said, in a rare attack that sent students and staff into panic.
The Republican-led House of Representatives has passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, advancing legislation that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and photo identification at the polls. The bill now heads to the Senate, where its future remains uncertain amid strong Democratic opposition.
Israel’s Ministry of Defense announced on Wednesday that its advanced David’s Sling air and missile defense system has completed a series of complex modernized tests, a development officials say bolsters the country’s defensive posture as tensions with Iran escalate and the United States prepares military options that could include direct strikes.