Protection for Christian raped girl sought

ISLAMABAD: A Christian leader on Friday urged the government to protect a 13-year-old girl who was raped by a Sunni villager in Pakistan.

Shahbaz Bhatti, who heads the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance which promotes the rights of minorities in mainly Sunni Muslim Pakistan, said the victim was kidnapped in July by Mohammad Nazir Ahmed, in a village near Bahawalpur.

“He (Ahmed) took her to a church on gunpoint and raped her,” Bhatti told a news conference in the capital, Islamabad.

He said although police had arrested the attacker, the victim and her family members were being forced to withdraw the case.

The victim, who was present at the news conference, also briefly spoke, saying “we have come to Islamabad because they (attacker’s family) asked us to withdraw the case or get killed.” No government or police officials were immediately available for comments. ap

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