LAHORE, Pakistan — A Christian woman in Pakistan who was raped repeatedly, blackmailed and warned to convert to Islam has faced pushback from authorities not wanting to prosecute the offenders.
The 26-year-old Islamabad resident, whose name is withheld, reported to Rawalpindi police that Raja Waleed and Shah Hussain, both Muslims, raped her several times in four months, at least once at gunpoint. The news services Christian Daily International and Morning Star News report that the two men then used videos of the rapes to try to blackmail her into keeping quiet.
Upon learning that the woman had become pregnant from the rapes, one assailant kicked and beat her, causing a miscarriage, when she refused at gunpoint to convert to Islam, she told the news services.
After she filed charges Feb. 13, police apparently informed the perpetrators, who secured pre-arrest bail. She said she filed an additional case about the offenders’ threats to kill her and her mother, but police declined to act.
One investigating officer pressured her to drop the case, delayed her medical examination and blocked tests on DNA evidence, she said.
After a Christian activist and some Christian attorneys came to the woman’s aid, a senior police official was assigned to investigate her case.
Pakistan is No. 7 on Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List of places most difficult to be a Christian.
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