{"id":2484242,"date":"2025-09-09T15:41:02","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T19:41:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/catholic-pilgrims-targeted-by-muslims-in-deadly-ambush-report\/"},"modified":"2025-09-09T15:41:56","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T19:41:56","slug":"catholic-pilgrims-targeted-by-muslims-in-deadly-ambush-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/catholic-pilgrims-targeted-by-muslims-in-deadly-ambush-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Catholic Pilgrims Targeted by Muslims in Deadly Ambush: Report"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcatholic-pilgrims-targeted-by-muslims-in-deadly-ambush-report%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2484242&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A group of Catholic pilgrims in Pakistan was attacked by Muslims while traveling to a Marian shrine in Punjab Province. During the journey, three Muslim youths harassed the women in the group and blocked the van. When Afzal Masih, a 42-year-old Catholic and father of four, intervened to stop the harassment, the assailants forced the van to stop, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-ex-nfl-running-back-zac-stacy-violently-beat-ex-girlfriend-incident-captured-on-video\/\" title=\"Report: Ex-NFL Running Back Zac Stacy Violently Beat Ex-Girlfriend, ... Captured On Video\">violently beat<\/a> him, and later returned armed to shoot him in the neck, killing him instantly. Another passenger was wounded. Christian advocates denounced the attack as religious persecution and called on Pakistani authorities to provide justice and protection for Christians, especially during religious events. The incident highlights increasing hostility and hate against Christians exercising their religious freedom in Pakistan.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Catholics making a pilgrimage in Pakistan were attacked by Muslims on Sunday, leaving one person dead.<\/p>\n<p>The attack in Punjab Province left one person wounded, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/morningstarnews.org\/2025\/09\/catholic-slain-in-muslim-attack-on-pilgrims-in-pakistan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Morningstar News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Afzal Masih was killed after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/christians-living-refugee-camp-700000-muslims-beaten-burglarized-now-kidnapped\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">armed Muslims<\/a> halted a van as it traveled to a Feast of the Nativity of Mary shrine, according to Aurangzeb Peter, a member of the group.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We were about 12-13 people in the van, including women and young girls of our families,&rdquo; Peter said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;When we were on the Sheikhupura highway at around 1:30 a.m., three Muslim youths riding two motorcycles started teasing and catcalling our women passengers. They also blocked our way by zigzagging their bikes in front of our van,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>Masih demanded that the Muslims stop harassing the women, Peter said. The <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >young men responded<\/a> by forcing the van to stop. Then they hauled Masih out of the van onto the road.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;They started beating him with fists and kicks and attacked us as well when we tried to rescue Afzal,&rdquo; Peter said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;They also called us Chuhra [a pejorative term used for Christians] and said how could we dare to call them out,&rdquo; Peter said.<\/p>\n<p>Although the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/world-focuses-brutalized-muslims-ignoring-forgotten-christians-country\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">assailants<\/a> allowed the van to leave, after first deriding the Catholics for their faith, they again confronted them, this time with weapons, when the van stopped at a gas station.<\/p>\n<p>Masih was shot in the neck, killing him instantly. Passenger Harris Masih was wounded in his right arm, Peter said.<\/p>\n<p>Christian attorney Kashif Nemat, head of the Good Samaritan Society for Development and Rehabilitation, said the attack was religiously motivated.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This incident is clearly an act of persecution on the basis of the victim&rsquo;s religious identity,&rdquo; Nemat said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The other passengers who witnessed the gruesome attack on Afzal and Harris told us that they had covered their van with posters of the pilgrimage and cross signs which clearly identified them as Christians. Afzal had only stopped the assailants from teasing the women passengers, which offended them to the extent that they not only tortured him but returned with guns to kill him,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Afzal Masih, a 42-year-old Catholic and father of four, was killed, and a teenager injured when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/four-american-citizens-kidnapped-in-mexico\/\" title=\"Four American citizens kidnapped in Mexico\">unidentified gunmen opened fire<\/a> on a van carrying 18 pilgrims to Pakistan&rsquo;s largest Marian shrine near Lahore on September 7, 2025.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/shalomworldnews?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#shalomworldnews<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Catholic?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Catholic<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/pilgrim?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#pilgrim<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Pakistan?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Pakistan<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/3LnBaqcw1s\">pic.twitter.com\/3LnBaqcw1s<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Shalom World News (@shalomworldnews) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/shalomworldnews\/status\/1965111002066018694?\">September 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This is not just an isolated crime,&rdquo; Pastor Imran Amanat of LEAD Ministries Pakistan, a Christian advocacy group, said, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pakistanchristianpost.com\/head-line-news-details\/8305\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pakistan Christian Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It reflects a growing pattern of hate against peaceful Christians exercising their constitutional right to religious freedom,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p>Sardar Mushtaq Gill, a human rights lawyer who founded LEAD Ministries, called for government action.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We demand justice for Afzal Masih&rsquo;s family and immediate protection for Christians across Pakistan, especially during religious events like the Mariamabad pilgrimage,&rdquo; Gill said.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Catholics on a pilgrimage in Pakistan were assaulted by Muslims on Sunday, resulting in one fatality. The incident occurred in Punjab Province and also left another person injured, Morningstar News reported. Afzal Masih was killed after armed Muslims stopped a van en route to the Feast of the Nativity of Mary shrine, according to Aurangzeb Peter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2484243,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Catholic-pilgrim-killed-in-Pakistan.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[62949,62950,62952,62951,46104],"class_list":["post-2484242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-catholic-pilgrims","tag-deadly-ambush","tag-pilgrimage-violence","tag-religious-conflict","tag-targeted-attack"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Catholic-pilgrim-killed-in-Pakistan.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2484242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2484242"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2484242\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2484246,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2484242\/revisions\/2484246"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2484243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2484242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2484242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2484242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}