Christian family seeks protection from RPO against hate propaganda

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Arthur Anthony, a 70-year-old Christian man, owner of a small hotel near Dhoke Noor Chowk in Rawalpindi was shot at and critically wounded by some unknown man riding a motorbike, who fled after the shooting.

Arther Anthony said that when his hotel started good business another person compelled him to sell the establishment to him. On his initial refusal, the man started propagating among people in close vicinity of his hotel that he is a Christian and no Muslim should have food from his hotel. Being unable to take the pressure of religion-based hate propaganda he decided to sell the hotel to for Rs90,000 to one Taimur and received Rs50 thousand as a down payment with the promise that the rest of Rs40 thousand would be paid later.

On the day of the incident son of Mr Taimur had a quarrel with Arthur Anthony who said that he had sold the hotel for a much higher price to his father so he should forget about getting Rs40,000, which was promised by Mr Taimur to be paid later.

The family of Arthur Anthony said that on the day of the incident, October 26, at around 9:15 pm an employee of the hotel came to his house and told him that he was required to come to the hotel to shut it down. When he reached the hotel yet again heated arguments started between Arthur Anthony and the other party. While they were still arguing, a man riding a 125 motorbike with his face covered with cloth, came off his bike and hit him in the ribs because of which he fell to the ground.

While he was still lying on the ground the man took out a pistol and shot him in the stomach and immediately took to his bike and sped away. Injured Arthur Anthony was taken to the CMH by a man on his motorbike but the CMH people told him that he could not be treated there because it was a police case.

Meanwhile, Arthur Anthony called his son, who came over with his family members and called Police Helpline 15. In response to the call, a police party quickly arrived at CMH and shifted him to the Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Hospital in an ambulance where he was admitted.

Arthur Anthony says that while he was admitted to the hospital and undergoing treatment a sympathetic employee of the hotel came to visit him and told him that there was hate propaganda going on in the locality on the basis of his religious belief. He also advised him not to go there otherwise he could face a more serious attack and his family could also be targeted by those people.

Arthur Anthony was discharged from the hospital on 30th October because of the non-availability of a bed. Since then he and his family have been living under persistent fear and have appealed to the Regional Police Officer Rawalpindi to provide him and his family protection and take necessary steps to stop this religion-based hate propaganda not only against him but against the whole Christian community.(TNS)