A 21-year-old Christian farmworker in Pakistan’s Punjab Province was tortured to death by his Muslim employers, who then attempted to disguise the killing as suicide by hanging, according to his brother.
Marcus Masih had worked for five years at a cattle farm in Sargodha District when his employers called his brother Dilshad on March 4 to claim he had taken his own life. The family’s suspicions were raised when the body was returned after autopsy. Severe bruises and burn marks on the body confirmed he had been tortured. Lawyers connected to the employers also attempted to pressure the grieving family into placing their thumbprints on blank documents.
Dozens of Christians staged a protest, blocking a main highway with the body and demanding justice. Police subsequently filed a criminal case.
The killing is part of a deeply troubling pattern. Rights groups note that impoverished Christians in rural Pakistan frequently labor under influential landowners in informal sectors, leaving them gravely vulnerable to abuse. Pakistan ranked eighth on Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List, with the report citing systemic discrimination, mob violence, forced conversions, and perpetrators routinely acting with impunity.
The Church calls the faithful worldwide to pray for Pakistan’s persecuted Christian community and for justice for Marcus Masih and his family.