Saim had left the house to go get a haircut when a security guard, who had noticed that the boy was wearing a chain with a cross, tried to force him to recite Islamic prayers. When the boy refused, he forced him to ingest a harmful substance
Lahore () – A new attempt at forced conversion took place in Pakistan against a 13-year-old Christian boy, forced to ingest a toxic substance when he refused to embrace Islam. The incident occurred on April 13 in the city of Lahore. Saim had left his house to go get a haircut, but he was stopped by a Muslim security guard who had noticed that the boy was wearing a cross around his neck. The guard, named Qadar Khan, snatched the pendant and tried to force Saim to recite an Islamic prayer, but the boy refused, stating that he was a Christian. Then the man forced Saim to ingest a toxic substance with the purpose of poisoning him.
The young man's parents found their son unconscious several hours after Saim had disappeared from their home. The father, Liyaqat Randhava, went to the police, but explained that he had been treated unfairly. The officers registered the complaint only after insisting several times and Saim's family was not given a copy of the document either. Additionally, several parts of the story were not included in the complaint (also called first information report or FIR).
Joseph Johnson, president of Voice for Justice, expressed deep concern over the increasing episodes of forced religious conversions in Pakistan and condemned what happened to Saim, adding that the police were showing extreme negligence in the case. “By failing to include crucial details in the FIR, the police have subjected Saim and his family to further abuse,” Johnson said, calling for the government to intervene with an investigation.
