Punjab: Muslim Enslaves Entire Christian Family for 30 Years

One would think that at 26-members-strong, a Christian family in the Punjab region between Pakistan and India could have found the strength in numbers needed to escape the Muslim slaveholder who held them captive for three decades. Sadly, however, that was not the case for Zulfiquar Masih and his family, who reportedly only tasted freedom after the Catholic Diocese of Bahawalpur intervened in the family's dire situation.

According to reports, Masih signed a loan to raise money for his daughter’s marriage, but the interest allegedly skyrocketed to nearly 500% making it impossible to pay off the debt. As a result, the family, one-by-one, were sent to serve as slave to a wealthy Muslim landowner.

AsiaNews#mce_temp_url# reports:

A Christian family consisting of 26 persons, including women and children, lived in slavery for over 30 years. Forced to work on a farm belonging to a wealthy Muslim landowner Rahim Yar Khan, in a district of the province of Punjab, only recently managed to regain freedom.

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About 30 years ago Zulfiquar Masih, a Christian from Rahim Yar Khan, signed a loan to raise enough money for his daughter’s marriage. The interest rate rocketed to touch 500% making it impossible to pay off the debt. For this the entire family was segregated by force in a private jail and forced to work for Basharat Ali Gulo, a Muslim farmer and company owner. Enslaved for three decades, the family managed to free itself through the intervention of the Catholic leaders of Bahawalpur. On behalf of the diocese Fr. Samuel Rafael,filed a complaint against Basharat Ali at the High Court. And the judges have ordered the release of the family, until then held in forced labor.

Speaking to AsiaNews Fr Rafael said that "thousands of workers are kept in conditions of slavery across Pakistan today." In Sindh province the Hindus are kept in slavery for generations by the feduals. We condemn such acts and will fight for the Christians in slavery. We have raised the matter to the concerned authorities. It is a clear violation of human rights."