LAHORE, Pakistan — Catholic bishops in Pakistan on March 10 condemned the “suspicious death” of a young Christian farmworker in northern Punjab and called for a transparent investigation into what the victim’s family says was a murder disguised as suicide.
In a joint statement, the Pakistan Catholic Bishops’ Conference (PCBC) and the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP), the Catholic Church’s human rights body, asked for prayers for the family of Marqas Masih, 22, whose body was found hanging March 3 at a farmhouse owned by a Muslim landlord in a village in Sargodha District.
“Marks of torture were visible on the body of the deceased,” said Bishop Samson Shukardin of Hyderabad, president of the PCBC and chairperson of the NCJP, along with Father Bernard Emmanuel, NCJP national director, and Naeem Yousaf Gill, executive director of the commission.
The Church leaders urged authorities “to bring the facts to light and ensure that justice is delivered to this vulnerable community.”
The statement followed a protest by Christian villagers who joined Masih’s family March 4 in blocking a main road near their village, Chak 50, for about five hours. The demonstrators placed the victim’s body on a bedstead as they demanded justice after local landlords reported the death as a suicide.
Two Muslim brothers — Muhammad Mohsin and Muhammad Basharat — have since been detained at a local police station following the protest.
A debt that kept growing
According to Masih’s brother, Dilshad Masih, the victim had taken an advance of 50,000 rupees (about $179) from the landlords in 2022. The family said it was not informed that the debt had continued to grow. By 2024, the amount had risen to 170,000 rupees and reached 270,000 rupees by 2025.
“Initially we thought he had committed suicide because of financial stress,” Dilshad Masih told EWTN News. “We discovered burn marks on his body only when we were preparing him for burial. His mouth had been burned internally by acid.”
Dilshad accused the landlord of mistreating his brother and holding him under pressure over the debt.
He said Marqas had returned home last November during his annual leave using the landlord’s motorcycle. When Dilshad later went to return the vehicle, he was allegedly beaten, slapped with a shoe, and forced to sign a stamped paper regarding the loan.
“Unable to find a decent job and repay the loan, he went back to work for the landlords on a monthly salary of 15,000 rupees,” he said.
Postmortem and police response
A copy of the postmortem report seen by EWTN News noted multiple abrasions on Masih’s body, including a wound measuring 6 by 5 centimeters on his chest with peeling skin.
Tahir Naveed Chaudhry, Masih’s lawyer and a former parliamentarian, accompanied Dilshad Masih to a March 9 meeting with police officials.
“Christian farmworkers have been killed over simple issues such as bathing in a well owned by a Muslim farmer or accusations of minor theft,” Chaudhry said.
“Incidents like this highlight the structural discrimination faced by many Christians who work as farm laborers under powerful landlords. When abuses occur, families often struggle to obtain justice because of fear, poverty, and social pressure,” he added.
Chaudhry also called for the withdrawal of what he described as “false charges” against 19 Christians accused of threatening police and staging an unauthorized protest during the March 4 demonstration.
According to a police complaint, the protesters were charged with property damage, criminal intimidation, wrongful restraint, rioting, and unlawful assembly on a road leading to Lahore, the provincial capital. Authorities alleged that the demonstrators were armed with sticks and iron rods and caused traffic disruption.
Under the Pakistan Penal Code, these offenses can carry prison sentences ranging from one month to seven years along with fines.
Police officer Fazal Daad, who filed the case against the protesters, said it was unnecessary to create what he called a “public nuisance” over the incident.
“The investigation is ongoing as the Punjab Forensic Science Agency examines the postmortem report. Signs of torture, if any, were not discernible after a day,” he said.
Lawmakers respond
Meanwhile, Falbous Christopher, a minority lawmaker in the Punjab Assembly and chairman of its Standing Committee on Human Rights and Minority Affairs, submitted on March 10 a call-attention notice — a formal parliamentary request for ministerial response — regarding the police case against the Christian villagers.
Christian leaders and rights activists have long urged stronger enforcement of labor protections in rural areas, citing repeated cases of violence against poor farmworkers.
In 2024, three Christian farmers were attacked by Muslims in a separate incident reported by the NCJP. One of them, Suleman Masih, died from injuries after enduring threats, harassment, and the destruction of his crops. He was shot Dec. 29, 2024, and died three days later.
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