Last Wednesday, 15-year-old Nouman Masih died of burns he received from two Muslim men. Masih, a Christian boy who was burned for his faith, passed away in a hospital in Lahore, Pakistan. Police officials claim that Masih never gave a recorded testimony of the attack that occurred.
The Deputy Inspector General Rana Ayaz Saleem told news sources that a testimony from Masih was never given. Saleem claims that the attack had no ties to religion.
"No dying declaration/statement was recorded by police due to the life-threatening condition of the boy," said the inspector.
Masih was on his way to his apprenticeship at a tailoring business when he was approached by two Muslim men who asked him if he was a Christian or a Muslim. When he said he was Christian, the two men began beating him. Masih attempted to flee, but was caught by the men and then doused with kerosene. The two Muslim men lit him on fire; 55 percent of his body was burned.
In the hospital, Masih repeatedly told officials that he was attacked by two Muslim men for his faith. Sardar Mushtaq Gill, a human rights lawyer, was present in the hospital room when Masih told his testimony to officials. Gill told the Christian Post in an interview what had occurred.
"They chased him and then catch him and get kerosene all on him and set on fire," described Gill. " This is the incident and these are all the facts. He, himself, told this to senior police officer and a number of people recorded his statement and I also heard the same words from his mouth," said Gill.
The Christian Post also reports that another attorney, Aneeqa Maria Akhtar from The Voice Society was also in the room when Masih told his account of the attack.
Pakistani media, however, released articles stating Masih's own uncle had attacked him, and not two Muslim men. Masih did not recognize his attackers, and his sister Saba Masih contested the claim against their uncle and guardian.
"Uncle Nadeem and his wife raised us just like their own children," she told Morning Star News. "It was only after this incident that most of our neighbors had come to know that they weren't our real parents," she said.
Masih's uncle, Nadeem Masih, became the guardian of Masih and his sister after their father died and their mother remarried. Their mother renounced Christianity after she married a Muslim. Nadeem has filed complaints and appeals to the Pakistani courts to seek justice for his nephew's death.
According to the British Pakistani Christian Association, Nouman Masih forgave his attackers before passing. Wilson Chowdhry, Chairman of the BPCA, said that Nouman forgave his attackers in a "Christian forgiveness", but wanted them to "go through the justice system."
