by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent
SHEIKHUPURA, PAKISTAN (Worthy News) – Authorities in Pakistan launched an investigation after a 10-year-old Christian girl was allegedly targeted in an attempted rape by a Muslim man in Punjab province amid a series of violent incidents against Christians in the region, investigators said Sunday.
Police in Punjab’s city of Safdarabad registered a case after the alleged assault in Manawarabad village in Sheikhupura District, according to sources familiar with the investigation. Worthy News does not publish the identity of victims of sexual or domestic violence. The suspect’s name is known to Worthy News but has not yet been released pending possible charges.
Officials said the circumstances surrounding Saturday’s incident remain under investigation, and police have not yet publicly disclosed formal charges. Authorities urged the public to remain calm while investigators determine the motive and full details of the attack.
The case has drawn condemnation from Christian leaders and rights activists, who say it highlights ongoing concerns about the safety of religious minorities in Pakistan.
Pastor Imran Amanat, director of advocacy group LEAD Ministries, called the assault “intolerable,” urging authorities to ensure the girl’s safety and hold those responsible accountable.
BRUTAL ASSAULT
“The brutal assault on a child — someone so young and defenseless — is not only a crime against an individual but also an affront to the very principles of humanity and dignity,” Amanat told Worthy News.
Sardar Mushtaq Gill, founder of LEAD Ministries, said the organization documents persecution and human rights violations against Christians and works with partners to raise awareness of violence faced by minority communities.
Rights groups say Christian women and girls in Pakistan are particularly vulnerable to abuse, abduction, and forced conversion. Advocacy groups estimate that hundreds of Christian and Hindu girls are abducted each year, often forced into marriage and pressured to convert to Islam.
The latest incident comes a day after the killing of a Christian agricultural worker in the same region and follows earlier attacks against Christians this year amid rising Islamic extremism, which has sparked protests, according to local sources.
Muslim-majority Pakistan ranks 8th on the Open Doors World Watch List, an annual ranking of the 50 countries where Christians face the most severe persecution. Activists say Christians and other minorities in Pakistan often face discrimination, intimidation, and attacks, particularly in poorer rural areas.
Police said the investigation is ongoing.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel remains in constant coordination with the United States regarding Iran, emphasizing that there are “no surprises” between Jerusalem and Washington as reports swirl about a possible U.S.-Iran agreement aimed at ending the war before fully dismantling Tehran’s nuclear program.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is targeting multiple seats in Congress to take back the Democratic majority in November.
A tense calm returned Monday to a lakeside park in the U.S. state of Oklahoma after a shooting at a crowded outdoor party left nearly two dozen people injured, including several in critical condition, authorities said.
At least five people were killed and 37 others injured in renewed Russian strikes on Ukraine, officials said, as tensions escalated further with what Moscow authorities described as a Ukrainian drone attack on a residential building in the Russian capital.
Governments and activist groups pursuing legal action against major energy companies faced renewed scrutiny Wednesday after the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) dropped its most extreme forecast projecting 4 to 6 degrees Celsius (7.2 to 10.8 degrees Fahrenheit) of global warming by the year 2100.
U.S. President Donald Trump suggested Wednesday that Washington and Tehran were moving closer to an initial agreement to end the war involving Iran, the United States, and Israel, prompting a sharp rally in global financial markets and a decline in oil prices.
Authorities in Indonesia’s South Sulawesi province have halted construction of a Christian prayer house after Muslim residents erected protest banners opposing the project, amid growing pressure on churches in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, Christians said Wednesday.