OKARA DISTRICT, Pakistan — Two Christians in Pakistan were gunned down by a Muslim mob in a land disagreement that turned into a religious dispute, according to the human rights group International Christian Concern.
On Oct. 8, Yaqoob Masih and brother Haroon Masih were shot and killed in Okara District by an angry Muslim mob, ICC reports.
A survivor of the attack told ICC that local Muslims were upset Christians had applied to lease six acres of land for cultivation. Local authorities had granted the lease.
Five people were working in the fields when two dozen or more armed men attacked, the survivor said.
Christians make up about 1.6% of Pakistan’s population, ICC notes.
Disputes between Christians and Muslims often turn violent because of religious intolerance and widespread discrimination of religious minorities, ICC states. Sometimes, false claims of blasphemy are leveled against Christians. Such accusations have led to mass protests, lynchings and vigilante murders of Christians.
Pakistan is No. 5 on Open Doors’ 2021 World Watch List of places most difficult to be a Christian.
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