Pakistani Presbyterian bishop to lead prosecution for case of murdered Catholic girl

(February 12, 2010) A prominent Presbyterian bishop in Pakistan will lead a team of lawyers following the case of Shazia Bashir, a 12-year-old Catholic girl allegedly tortured, raped and killed on Jan. 22 by a wealthy Muslim lawyer in Lahore. Bishop Timothy Nasir, Moderator of the United Presbyterian Church in Pakistan, is a canonist and jurist and rector of the Theological Seminary of Gujranwala. Fides news agency reported that he is a well-known newspaper columnist and defender of religious minorities. His appointment was reportedly necessary because of pressures and threats from Muslim lawyers surrounding proceedings against the accused murderer, Choudry Muhammad Naeem. The powerful Lahore Bar Association, of which Naeem is a former president, has threatened to ‘burn alive” anyone who will defend the case of Shazia Bashir. Naeem is alleged to have offered Shazia’s family the equivalent of $250 to keep silent.