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"I am so afraid for Robin," she said Tuesday. "The police didn't have the right to take him, but they have done it. And I am afraid that they might kill him."

A Pakistan official told the Associated Press that Peranditta was released later that night but "he will remain under observation for some days to check who is coming to meet him." The city's police chief told Pakistan's Daily Times on Tuesday night that the police held him until "completing the formalities but will be questioning him in future to solve the case."

Meanwhile, Peranditta's colleague, Robin Shareef, has survived a bullet wound to his head and is still recovering at Karachi's Agha Khan Hospital. Shareef, 24, worked as a librarian and receptionist in the IJP offices. Although he remains paralyzed on his left side, his doctors reportedly believe he will gradually regain the ability to walk. He still does not know that seven of his co-workers died in the September 25 attack.

According to a source close to the IPJ, the agency's offices are still sealed by government order. "We cannot even get out our letterhead stationery," the source said. "And until today, the government has not come up with anything," he said, in regard to promised compensation to the families of the seven murdered men, all married with children.

Church sources in Karachi confirmed that two young Christian neighbors of Peranditta were arrested about 10 days ago, as reported in Urdu-language newspapers, allegedly on suspicions of complicity in the attack. "We are also trying to get them out of police custody," the source said, "because they are also innocent, and not involved at all."

Copyright © 2002 Compass Direct.

Related articles include:

Police release survivor of Christian massacre in Pakistan | A survivor and possible suspect in September massacre has been released but remains under surveillance, police say. (October 23, 2002)

Massacre survivor released, re-arrested, released again | Only massacre survivor was arrested after a division bench ordered his immediate release. (October 23, 2002)

Seven Dead in Attack on Pakistan Christian Charity (Reuters, Sept. 25, 2002)

Gunmen 'execute' Pakistan Christians (BBC, Sept. 25, 2002)

Weblog: Seven Pakistani Christians Killed in Attack on Charity (Christianity Today, Sept. 25, 2002)

Gunmen Kill 7 Christians at Karachi Charity | Victims were segregated, then bound and gagged. (The Washington Post, Sept. 26, 2002)

Pakistan gunmen target Christians | Slaying of 7 at charity office stirs fears of anti-US mood. (The Boston Globe, Sept. 26, 2002))

Pakistan Christians Mourn Slain (Associated Press, Sept. 26, 2002)

For more stories on Pakistan, see Christianity Today'sWorld Report.

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October (Web-only) 2002, Vol. 46