LAHORE: A Christian political and social activist was attacked by unidentified armed men at his gas station on Sunday night.
According to details, Rufus Solomon, a leader of the minorities wing of the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and a leading Christian rights activist and businessman, was present at his CNG filling station and motor workshop located on 4-Lawrence Road, when two unidentified men arrived there on a motorcycle.
“I was filing my tax returns when suddenly two men stormed into my office around 9.30pm. One of them stood outside while the other man, who was armed with a handgun, lunged at me. He started slapping and punching me with one hand as he held the gun to my head with his other hand. I kept asking him why he was hitting me to which he said that I had been warned before not to speak against the blasphemy laws,” Solomon said, adding that the assailant continued to curse and abuse him during the attack that spanned well over two minutes. The attacker and his accomplice then fled the scene on their bike.
Solomon said that he had closed his CNG filling station a couple of years ago as the government was dragging its feet in renewing its license, ostensibly because of his affiliation with the opposition party and his advocacy of Christian rights.
“I started a motor repairing workshop on the premises as the government kept delaying the renewal of the CNG license on one pretext or the other. There is a security guard deployed at the station 24 hours but at the time of the incident he had gone out for dinner while the workshop was closed as it was a Sunday,” he said.
When asked about the threats that he had been receiving over his activism, Solomon said that he began receiving threats in the first week of October.
“I started getting phone calls from anonymous people who warned me against highlighting the case of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman handed the death sentence in a blasphemy case, and for demanding the repeal of the country’s blasphemy laws on public forums. Initially I took the threats lightly, as I thought that my political rivals were using such tactics to scare me. However, on Oct 8, my car was vandalized and its doors and front screen were badly damaged in the parking lot of the EME Housing Society where I had gone for a business meeting. It was then that I realized that the matter was more serious than I had thought.
“I reached out to my friends in the police department and even provided them four phone numbers from which the calls were made to me. Their investigation revealed that all four cell numbers were not registered in anyone’s name and the calls were made from the South Punjab region. They asked me to limit my movement in the city and to avoid public meetings for some time, suggesting that the threats were being made from some extremist organization and it was better for me to keep a low profile for some time,” he said, adding that he had heeded the police advice.
Solomon, who has four school-going daughters, said that although the attack at his filling station had terrorized him and his family, he was determined than ever to carry out his mission of speaking up for the rights of the Christian community.
“God has blessed me mightily as I’m one of the few Christians who have been successful in the business sector. I have been using my personal resources for the uplift of my community rather than looking towards foreign donor agencies. Moreover, I entered politics to serve my people and I will continue to do so come what may. I believe that God is my protector and He will keep me and my family safe from evil doers,” he said.
Commenting on the incident, Inspector Rizwan of the Civil Lines Police Station said that they had initiated action on Solomon’s complaint.
“Mr Solomon is a known businessman of the area and has been operating his CNG filling station here for over 15 years. We are making all out efforts to trace the men who attacked him,” he said, adding that the police was obtaining CCTV footages from various cameras installed in the area which would help in identifying the attackers.
The police official said that it was Solomon’s fundamental right to speak for his people and no person could curb that right.
“Pakistan’s constitution gives complete freedom to members of the minority communities to practice their faiths and to speak for their rights. No individual or group will be allowed to curb this freedom,” he said, adding that the police would soon trace the culprits and bring them to justice.
The attack on the Christian political leader was widely condemned by Christian rights activists and the civil society.
“Such attacks and threats are meant to cower people who speak for others. We stand with Rufus Solomon and urge the police and security agencies to find and arrest the people who are harassing him,” said Napolean Qayyum, a Christian rights activist based in Lahore.
David Gill, another rights activist, said that the attack on Solomon was a manifestation of the extremism that had seeped into Pakistani society.
“Pakistani society is getting extremely intolerant, particularly towards people belonging to minority communities. It’s about time the government notices harassment of rights activists and provide protection to them,” he said.