A 24-year-old Christian woman was murdered after she refused to marry a Muslim man because of her faith.
Sonia Bibi was shot in the head multiple times at the Fazaia Colony bus stop in Rawalpindi, which is near Islamabad, Pakistan's capital. She was killed by Muhammad Shehzad and his accomplice known by the name of Faizan on Nov. 11, according to ACN (UK).
Reports say that Faizan picked up Sonia on his motorbike while she was on her way to work. He took her to Shehzad, who confronted her and murdered her in public.
The authorities took Faizan into custody on Nov. 30 and have issued a manhunt for Shehzad.
Shehzad had reportedly been harassing Sonia for six months and even attempted to force her into a physical relationship with him. Sonia refused to entertain him because she was a Christian and he was a Muslim.
"Since she was a committed Christian she did not betray Jesus and sacrificed her life for her faith," Sonia's father told the International Christian Concern.
However, Shehzad persisted and asked her to marry him and convert to Islam. He even tried to set up an arranged marriage by sending his mother to Sonia's family, but they also would not agree to it.
Sonia's father said these events did not stop Shehzad from harassing his daughter, and the harassment continued until a few days before she was murdered.
Sonia worked as a domestic cleaner and was the breadwinner in the family. She left behind her father, mother, and four younger siblings.
Her family filed a lawsuit against Shehzad and Faizan despite intense pressure not to do so. Her father said he wants the culprits to be "brought to justice."
ACN (UK) national director Neville Kyrke-Smith said Sonia's murder "demonstrates the mortal danger girls and young women-especially those from Christian and other minority backgrounds-face in situations where they are under pressure to marry and abandon their faith."
"It is urgent that action is taken to ensure the safety of these young people," he said. "We call upon those in authority in Pakistan and our own Government to act now. Otherwise there will only be more tragic cases such as this."
Sonia's death came amid increasing concerns about the welfare of Christian girls in Pakistan, such as 14-year-old Maira Shahbaz, who was forced to marry a Muslim man and convert to Islam in April.
Shahbaz was kidnapped at gunpoint by 45-year-old Mohamad Nakash Tariq while she was on her way home. Tariq had two accomplices who helped him abduct the young girl.
Tariq and his companions drugged Shahbaz, raped her, and told her to put her signature on blank papers. Tariq later made the blank papers into a marriage certificate and a conversion certificate.
Shahbaz escaped in August and fled home to her parents, but her marriage to Tariq had already been validated by the Lahore High Court.
Shahbaz has been receiving death threats and has asked UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to grant her asylum. ACN (UK) is also calling on the Prime Minister to give asylum to Shahbaz.
