A Christian human rights body in Pakistan, on Sept. 12, has condemned a government school that was guilty for the recent killing of a 17-year-old Christian student. The body demands the management of the school to take full moral responsibility and pay compensation to the poor student's family.
On Aug. 27, it was just the fourth day after Sharoon Masih newly joined ninth grader in MC Model Boys Government High School, Punjab province. He was brutally beaten to death by his Muslim classmates for allegedly drinking water from glass meant for Muslims, according to Pakistan Christian Post.
In a class of 70 students, Masih was the only Christian.
"Discrimination and the negligence of school authorities killed Sharoon Masih," said the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) in a statement, according to UCA News.com.
"It is unfortunate to observe that the government of Pakistan seems more concerned with infrastructure of schools and physical security of the buildings rather than the qualitative aspect of the education system. We and our children are living in a society where hatred, discrimination, bullying and ill feeling towards caste, creed, religion and social status is ingrained amongst pupils," it added.
From very first day he started at the school, his classmates attempted to convert him to Islam. But failed attempts only intensified the hatred.
"Christians are despised and detested in Pakistan they are a constant target for persecution," said Wilson Chowdhry, chairman of the British Pakistani Christian Association. "This young family will have to cope with the immense emotional pain of a totally avoidable incident."
"This killing of a young Christian teenager at school, serves only to remind us that hatred towards non- Muslims is bred into the majority population at a young age, through cultural norms and a biased national curriculum," he said.
NCJP expressed deep concern over the intensity of "extreme negligence" by the school officials.
"While we definitely need curriculum reforms in order to promote a more tolerant and peace-loving society, teachers also need to be given adequate training on dealing with issues of intolerance that plagues our society today," it said.
