Islamabad: On 10th June 2025, 35-year-old Aslam Masih, a Christian tubewell operator, tragically lost his life due to exposure to poisonous gases while attempting to unblock a sewer line at the US 3 Garment Factory in Lahore. The heartbreaking incident sheds light on the unsafe and exploitative working conditions often faced by Christian workers in Pakistan. 

According to eyewitnesses, Aslam had no training or experience in sewer maintenance but was ordered by his superior, Hafiz Muhammad Zikriya, to clean a blocked sewer. Shortly after descending into the manhole, he fell unconscious due to the toxic gases. In a desperate attempt to save him, two colleagues — Shahbaz Masih and Pervaiz Masih — also entered the manhole but were themselves rendered unconscious. 

Aslam Masih RIP 

A call was made to the emergency services (1122), but they arrived an hour after the incident. It then took another hour of strenuous effort to recover Aslam’s body. His lifeless body was initially taken to General Hospital Lahore and later referred to Jinnah Hospital for post-mortem examination. 

The family was informed of Aslam’s death at approximately 5:30pm. His wife, Samina Bibi, and their five daughters — Kainat (17), Mehak (15), Zoha (13), Kanwal (11), and Soha (9) — rushed to the hospital, only to be confronted with the devastating reality. Aslam was buried the next day in a local graveyard in Youhanabad, the impoverished area where the family resides in rented accommodation. 

Our British Asian Christian Association (BACA) team visited the grieving family on 11th June. We attended the funeral, met with the widow Samina Bibi, and contributed £100 towards the funeral costs. During our visit, Samina — who earns a meagre income of just Rs 10,000 (£27) per month working in a local factory — tearfully shared her anguish: 

“Aslam was a faithful and loving husband and father. I don’t know how I can raise my daughters without him.” 

The sudden loss of the family’s sole breadwinner has left Samina in a dire situation. She now faces the impossible task of providing food, shelter, and education for her five daughters on her minimal income. 

She pleaded for help, saying: 

“I have five daughters, and we live in a rented house. I don’t know how I will raise them and educate them. Please help me.” 

The entire Christian village came together in solidarity to attend his funeral, standing united in their sorrow and support. 

How You Can Help 

The British Asian Christian Association is committed to supporting Samina Bibi and her five daughters as they face an uncertain future without their husband and father. In the wake of this preventable tragedy, we are seeking to raise at least £1,000 — enough to provide £100 a month for the next year to help stabilise this devastated family. 

Your donation will enable us to offer: 

School fees and educational support for Samina’s five young daughters, ensuring they do not fall further behind because of poverty. 

Monthly groceries and rent assistance, helping the family stay fed and housed during this difficult transition. 

Legal aid, should the family choose to pursue justice for Aslam’s tragic and avoidable death. 

This heartbreaking loss is a stark reminder of the dangerous and unjust conditions many Christian workers face in Pakistan — forced into degrading roles without training or protection, and left to die without consequence. 

You can help change that. 

Please consider making a donation today to help this grieving family survive, heal, and begin to rebuild. Every gift — no matter the size — will make a tangible difference. 

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Let us stand with Samina and her daughters, and ensure that Aslam Masih’s life and death are not forgotten. 

Juliet Chowdhry, Trustee for the British Asian Christian Association, said: 

“I am horrified by yet another senseless death of a Christian man in a sewer — a recurring tragedy that reveals the deep-rooted discrimination faced by our community in Pakistan. It is utterly abhorrent that Aslam Masih, employed as a tubewell operator, was forced to clean a toxic sewer simply to keep his job. This is not just negligence; it is systemic abuse. 

Time and again, we witness Muslim employers equating Christianity with sewer work, reinforcing a casteist mindset that devalues Christian lives. The absence of effective regulation, safety protocols, and accountability means that these deaths — which are nothing short of manslaughter — go unpunished. 

Until Pakistan enforces proper labour protections and dismantles its ingrained religious bias, Christian workers will continue to be exploited, endangered, and discarded without justice.”