'I picked up my father's dead body, the mob around us didn't help'

Ribqa Nevash, Farhan Saleem with representatives of KCL, FoRB and ACN. Image: ©ACN

Source: Aid to the Church in Need

Christian and Muslim survivors of Pakistan atrocities shared their experiences with young students revealing often-hidden religious persecutions.

Farhan Saleem described how he watched on helplessly as his father Malik Saleem was gunned down by extremists as the two lawyers travelled to work on a motorbike.

A prominent advocate, Malik was a leader of the Ahmadiyya Community, a persecuted minority Muslim movement considered "non-Muslims" by the All Pakistan Ulema Council, an organisation that unites Islamic and legal scholars from various traditions under one umbrella group.

Also speaking was Ribqa Nevash, an outspoken advocate of Christians in Pakistan, particularly women and girls who have been kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam and marry their abductors.

She received death threats in 2023 after going on national television to condemn an attack in Jaranwala, Punjab, on 16th August where a mob desecrated 23 churches and destroyed 80 homes of people they knew were Christian. To date, not one of the 5,000 people involved, have been convicted.

The pair were guests of honour at an event hosted by the Freedom of Religion and Belief (FoRB) Society at King's College London and Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) on Tuesday, 11th November.

According to ACN's Freedom of Religion in the World 2025, between 1984 and 2025, at least 277 Ahmadis have been murdered in Pakistan.

Farhan told the assembled students: "On the day of that event we were going to our office and I was driving the motorbike and my father was sitting behind me. Suddenly as I stopped a man came into the road with a shotgun and pointed it at me."

He said the bullet hit his father, shattering his chest, and a second bullet hit his father's back.

Fahran abandoned the bike and ran away, but as thoughts of his father flooded his mind he walked back towards him. The attacker aimed the gun at his head but no bullet hit him.

He added: "He was not only my father. He was my friend, he was my mentor, he was my colleague, he was my everything.

"I spent all days only with him, going to work and coming back….

"I will never forget the moment I picked up his dead body and there was a mob around us, nobody tried to help."

Ribqa, who received ACN's Courage to be Christian award for bravery last year, shared several recent atrocities with assembled guests.

She said: "Cases of discrimination and even persecution are increasing rapidly and are getting worse"

On 12th May 2025 Kashif Masih, who had been working on a farm, was abducted, severely tortured and killed by an Islamist group who made a false allegation that he had stolen a mobile phone.

She said: "They badly attacked and beat Kashif Maish with clubs, struck him on the head and eyes and even drove nails into his legs and into the private parts of his body. Kashif had been working in a farm for three years."

Pastor Zafar Bhatti was imprisoned for 13 years in 2012 after being falsely accused of blasphemy. He was eventually acquitted in 2025 but died from a cardiac arrest days after coming home.

Ribqa said: "He leaves behind a legacy of faith and forgiveness. His story has become a powerful symbol for persecuted Christian in Pakistan, reminding believers around the world of the cost of standing firm in faith and the hope that endures even through suffering."

Faran Shaheen, President of KCL FoRB, said the event was "educating the youth and people of tomorrow".

He added: "You look around the world today and you see how much divisiveness there is now.

"We have politicians and leaders all over the world behaving in immoral ways and people are dying as result of their ignorance and horrible actions."

John Pontifex, Head of Press and Public Affairs at ACN, said: "Congratulations to Faran and the team on an event the like of which I have never seen before.

"It was wonderful to see so many people, from a widely differing communities, come together in pursuit of the common cause of religious freedom - a right for all and one that is at the cornerstone of human rights."

Meet this year's Courage to be Christian award winner at the #RedWednesday Mass at 6pm on Wednesday 19th November at St George's Cathedral, Lambeth Rd, Southwark SE1 7HY. To register your attendance, visit: https://acnuk.org/redwednesday-holy-mass-london-event

To access the Religious Freedom in the World report visit: https://acnuk.org/religious-freedom-in-the-world-report-2025

To sign the Article 18 petition visit: https://acnuk.org/article-18-petition-religious-freedom-human-right-not-privilege