A Christian man in Lahore, Pakistan had both of his arms chopped off after he refused to renounce the name of Jesus Christ and convert to Islam.
According to a report from the Legal Evangelical Association Development (LEAD), Aqeel Masih, who worked at a gas station in Lahore, was kidnapped by Islamic extremists before the horrific incident occurred.
"[The] extremists exerted pressure on him to abandon Christianity and convert to Islam," LEAD said. "Aqeel however, did not give up on his Christian faith and refused to comply with their demand. Notwithstanding...his rebuttal, they chopped off his both [sic] arms, and absconded."
While Masih has since taken legal action against the perpetrators of this crime, Pakistani police have cast doubt on the credibility of his story.
A senior police investigator said three suspects are being held in the case, but he denied that they had chopped Masih's arms off, suggesting that the Christian man is a drug addict who wandered too near a train and had his arms chopped off by the train.
"The circumstantial evidences do not support the claims of the victim," police officer Ammara Athar stated. "Apparently, it seemed that the man lost his arms in a train accident. We have yet to testify the claim of Aqil, we believe his arms were chopped off in a train accident."
Pakistan, the world's second largest Muslim country, is ranked #6 on the Open Doors 2016 World Watch List of the worst persecutors of Christians, and has received the maximum score in the violence category.
Over the past decade, Muslim attacks against Christians and other minorities in Pakistan have steadily increased. Despite this, Muslims in Pakistan seemingly have great impunity when it comes to persecuting Christians.
A recent report produced by the Asian Human Rights Commission found that police in Pakistan are doing little to protect the minority Christian community from the persecution and harassment that they face from the Muslim community, which comprises about 97 percent of the nation's population.
"The situation is getting worse with each passing day," the report reads. "The Christians are living in constant fear that their houses may be set on fire by a mob if the police does not provide them with round the clock security."
In light of rampant persecution, Pakistan's People's Party Vice President and Senator Sherry Rehman last month criticized the government for its failure to protect religious minorities and said that inaction amounts "tacit approval" of the crimes.
"Pakistan cannot continue to tolerate continual religious persecution of its minorities. They are not second-class citizens and should not be treated as such." Rehman said.
Rehman urged the government to come up with a plan to combat such persecution: "The government needs to take a clear position on how it treats its citizens, especially the marginalized and vulnerable. It needs to have a plan of action that we can all uphold and pursue."
