KHANEWAL, Pakistan — A male Muslim supervisor has threatened to file blasphemy charges against a female Christian sanitation worker unless she withdraws her sexual assault accusation against him, says a human rights group.
After Salima Rani Bibi, 50, repeatedly refused supervisor Ajmal Khan Dukki’s demands for sex, she claims he groped her and tore off some of her clothes July 22 in front of other Christian employees, states Alpha Human Rights Care Organization.
After Rani Bibi filed a complaint with Teshli Municipal Administration Khanewal, Dukki and other senior officials intimidated her, withheld her salary and threatened to abduct her six daughters, the rights group said. Hearings on the complaint have been postponed and witnesses have been threatened with torture.
Rani Bibi went into hiding with her children.
Dukki is a member of an influential family with powerful connections, a source stated.
Most sanitation workers in Pakistan are Christians and routinely face harassment and discrimination.
Pakistan is No. 5 on Open Doors’ 2021 World Watch List of places most difficult to be a Christian.
