By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
HAFIZABAD, PAKISTAN (Worthy News) – At least three Christian children have died in Pakistan’s Punjab province after a suspected Islamic extremist distributed poisoned sweets among Christian kids, several sources told Worthy News Tuesday.
The “horrifying incident has shaken the Christian community in Qila Sahib Singh, a neighborhood in [the city of] Hafizabad,” said Sardar Mushtaq Gill, the founder of the advocacy group LEAD Ministries Pakistan.
Gill, whose group represents Christians in the region, told Worthy News that the attack occurred on Palm Sunday, April 14, at about 6:30 p.m. local time. The distribution of poisoned sweets “has tragically claimed the lives of three children, while five others remain hospitalized in critical condition,” Gill added.
Police announced that investigations are currently underway to identify and apprehend the suspect.
Eyewitnesses said an unknown man arrived in the area “on a three-wheeler” and handed out sweets “specifically to Christian children.”
Shortly after consuming the sweets, the children reportedly began showing signs of severe illness. “Alarmed residents attempted to intervene, but the suspect fled the scene before he could be apprehended,” Gill confirmed.
Christian leaders suggested this attack was religiously motivated and potentially linked to Islamic extremist groups known for targeting Christians and other religious minorities in Pakistan.
TIMING OF ATTACK
“The timing of the attack—so close to Easter—has heightened concerns of further targeted violence during the Christian holy season,” LEAD said in a statement.
“This was not a random act,” added Pastor Imran Amanat, a leader with LEAD Ministries, “This was a deliberate attempt to harm our children and our community. We demand immediate action from the authorities and full protection for Christians during this vulnerable time.”
Gill called it “a heinous act of religiously motivated violence” and added there was a “need for urgent government intervention to prevent further tragedies.”
LEAD Ministries has urged the Christian community to remain vigilant and united in prayer. “Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the loss of these innocent lives,” said Pastor Amanat. “We ask the global Christian community to join us in prayer—prayers for comfort, for healing, and for justice.”
This tragic event has reignited calls for stronger legal protections and security measures for Pakistan’s Christian minority, which has faced discrimination, threats, and violence, LEAD said.
“As the investigation continues, the Christian community in Hafizabad—and across Pakistan—waits for justice and for meaningful action to ensure such violence is never repeated,” Gill told Worthy News.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
Christian rights campaigners have welcomed Friday’s landmark decision by Pakistan’s Punjab province to criminalize child marriage by setting 18 as the minimum legal age for marriage. However, the killing of a Pakistani Christian shopkeeper in the same province cast a shadow over the celebrations.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced Sunday that countries participating in his Gaza “Board of Peace” have pledged more than $5 billion toward humanitarian relief and reconstruction efforts in the Gaza Strip, along with committing thousands of personnel to support new security arrangements in the enclave.
An additional 27 members of Venezuelan transnational criminal organizations, Tren de Aragua and its splinter faction, anti-Tren, have been indicted in New York in an ongoing prosecution of groups the Trump administration has designated as foreign terrorist organizations.
Two pastors in eastern Uganda who were reportedly attacked by a group of Muslim extremists have been discharged from a hospital and are continuing to recover at home, Worthy News learned Sunday.
Western leaders sought to project unity at the 2026 Munich Security Conference despite tensions over U.S. interest in acquiring Greenland, differences on ending the war in Ukraine, and questions surrounding the future of transatlantic cooperation.
The Pentagon is deploying the Navy’s largest and most advanced aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, to the Middle East as the United States intensifies preparations for potential military action against Iran.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said over the weekend that Hungary should fear the European Union more than Russia, pledging to dismantle what he called Brussels’ “oppressive machinery” ahead of heated parliamentary elections in April.