LAHORE: A Christian political and social rights activist narrowly escaped a suspected murder attempt when unidentified assailants opened fire at his vehicle in the Ichhra police jurisdiction on Monday night, police said.
Zulfiqar Ali, a police official at the Ichhra Police Station, said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) minorities wing leader Rufus Solomon and his wife Sheryl Solomon were heading back home after a doctor’s appointment at the Fatima Memorial Hospital in Shadman when two men riding a motorcycle ambushed their car in the Shah Jamal area.
“The men attempted to stop the car by ramming their motorcycle into the door on the driver’s side. Solomon thought they were street criminals so he offered his iPhone to them but the pillion rider allegedly smashed the phone with the butt of his handgun. Sensing that it was not a robbery bid, Solomon stepped up the accelerator and sped away from the scene. It was then that the suspected assailants opened fire on the car. Fortunately the couple remained safe as the bullet hit below the rear screen,” said the police official.
He added that the police was investigating the incident.
“Solomon says he does not have any personal rivalry yet this is the second time that he has been attacked so we are investigating the incident with utmost concern,” Ali said.
Talking to Pakistan Today, Rufus Solomon said that he and his wife were still reeling from Monday night’s incident.
“I was about to turn on the main Shah Jamal Road when two men hit their motorcycle into the door on my side. Both men had their faces covered so I thought that we had been waylaid by robbers. The pillion rider pulled out a pistol and signaled me to lower down the window. I immediately reached out for my phone thinking that they would let us go, but instead of taking the phone the man smashed it with the handgun’s butt and shouted ‘Get ready to die’!”
Solomon said that his wife Sheryl panicked as soon as she heard the man’s words and started screaming at the top of her lungs.
“I cannot describe my condition at that time. When the man told me to ‘get ready to die’ I was dumbfounded. In that one second I saw my life in a flashback…I thought about my daughters and my wife but then suddenly I don’t know how my mind reacted and I stepped on the gas pedal thinking it was now or never for us. I don’t recall hearing the gunshot as my mind was focused on getting away from the attackers as quickly as possible but my wife and I heard a loud thud from the back of the car.
“Upon reaching the FCC canal bridge, I saw some traffic policemen standing in a group. I stopped the car there and informed them about the incident that had taken place some two kilometers from there. They immediately radioed the police and soon two police vehicles arrived there. As I narrated the entire episode to them, the police officials spotted a bullet hole just above the car’s rear bumper. It was then that we came to know that we had been fired upon,” he said.
Solomon said that it was the second time unknown men had attacked him in 10 months due to his religious and political activism.
“I was first attacked in October 2016, when two men stormed into my office on Lawrence Road and beat me up on gunpoint for speaking in favour of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman handed the death sentence in a controversial blasphemy case. After that incident I was advised by police officials to keep a low profile for some months as some extremist outfit based in South Punjab was monitoring my activities. Even though I had shared with the police the phone numbers from which I was receiving life threats they still could not trace those people. Had the police taken more serious notice of these threats, my wife and I would not have faced this attack,” he said.
Solomon, who was nominated as a Member of the National Assembly by the PTI on a reserved seat for minorities in the 2013 General Election, said that he failed to understand why someone would want to kill him just for highlighting the issues facing his community and for seeking justice for Asia Bibi, who has been languishing in jail for the last seven years for alleged blasphemy after a fight broke out between her and some Muslim women over drinking water from the same cup.
“This is absurd. We are a peaceful people trying to communicate our concerns through peaceful means. The entire country knows that the blasphemy laws are being used as a tool to settle personal scores and to persecute religious minorities yet these religious extremists cannot even tolerate discussion on it. What is the future of Pakistan if people get shot just for trying to bring attention to legitimate issues of national importance,” he said.
Solomon said that he had little hope from the police because they “already have their priorities set”.
“I am a patriot to the heart and love my country but the way we have failed it as a nation is truly heart wrenching,” he said, adding that he will announce his future course of action after consulting his friends and party fellows.
