Pakistan Police Detain 2 after Discovery of Slain Bishop, Wife
Pakistan authorities have arrested two people in connection with the murder of a Christian bishop and his wife in Islamabad.
Bishop Arif Khan and his wife were shot dead at their home on Wednesday evening, according to police reports.
In connection with the murders, another man and wife appeared in court on Thursday, and were remanded in custody following the hearing.
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It is believed that in addition to the two suspects, a third male is also being sought after by the country's police.
Police have told reporters that all three suspects come from the town of Wana in the tribal region of Waziristan near the Afghan border.
The killing took place just weeks after thousands of people, including leaders of religious minority groups, unanimously accepted a "Charter of Demands" at a rally in Lahore on Aug. 11 – three days before the country celebrated its 60th anniversary.
The Charter of Demands called on the government of Pakistan to ensure equal rights for religious minorities, including revising the school syllabus to remove religious bias, creating a National Commission on Religious Tolerance, and establishing other government mechanisms to promote religious tolerance.
The charter also calls for all groups involved in promoting hatred, intolerance, extremism and terrorism to be banned and argues for the repeal of the blasphemy laws which it says causes many religious minorities to live in "perpetual fear."
