A Pakistani Christian working for the relief and development agency Shelter Now has been murdered in Peshawar, reports Wolfgang Polzer, special to ASSIST News Service.
29-year old Sajeed Williams was on his way home January 17, when a masked man opened fire and killed him. The gunman is at large; his motives are unknown, as the director of the German Shelter Now branch, Udo Stolte, told the evangelical news agency “idea”.
Williams was married; the couple has an 18-month old daughter. He was office manager for Shelter Now in Peshawar.
The organization runs two projects in the country – a fish farm and a building project for 105 schools, which were ruined during the earthquake that shook Pakistan in 2005.
Shelter Now has been active in Pakistan for nearly 25 years. Since 1988 the Christian organization has also been involved in projects in neighboring Afghanistan.
Among other activities the agency is providing clothes, shelter and nourishment for thousands of returning refugees, who are without shelter during the harsh winter.
In 2001 the Taliban took eight foreign co-workers hostage. They were miraculously set free after 102 days in captivity and flown out by American armed forces. Several former hostages have since returned to Afghanistan to continue the humanitarian efforts.