“We Lost Everything in One Day”: Farrukh Naz Gill and His Wife Share Their Harrowing Story of Violence and Survival in Pakistan

Recently, we sat down with Farrukh Naz Gill and his wife, Annie Farrukh, a Christian couple from Attock City, Pakistan. With trembling voices and deep sorrow in their eyes, they shared the terrifying events that changed their lives forever.
What follows is their story, in their own words.

We were living a peaceful life.

“We were born and raised in Christian families,” Farrukh began. “Our faith has always taught us peace. Annie and I were married in 2017 at the Catholic Church in Attock City, and we were active members of both our local church and Abundant Ministries Fellowship of Churches in Taxila.”

Annie added softly, “We worked at Christian Hospital, Taxila. Farrukh was a cashier, and I worked as a staff nurse in the gynecology ward. Every day we traveled from Attock to Taxila together. Life wasn’t luxurious, but it was peaceful, and we were thankful for it.”

The threats began with a lie.

Farrukh explained how their nightmare started.

“It began with a man named Muhammad Khalil. He claimed that part of my inherited property belonged to him. But I had all the legal ownership documents. His claim was completely false.”

“When Farrukh refused him,” Annie said, “Khalil became aggressive. He started visiting our neighborhood, talking against us, threatening us. He said many times that he would ‘teach us a lesson.’ We didn’t know how serious he was.”

They killed my brother in front of me.

The couple described the day that tore their family apart—25 October 2024.

“That morning, Khalil came to our house with five men,” Farrukh recalled, his voice breaking. “They had sticks and iron rods. They were shouting for us to leave the house immediately.”

“My elder brother, Ashkenaz Gill, came outside and asked them what the issue was,” he continued. “Khalil shouted, ‘This is my house. Empty it now, or we will deal badly with your family.’”

“I told him clearly, ‘This is my inherited property. I am the legal owner.’ But they didn’t listen.”

Annie held back tears as she described what happened next:

“When they tried to force their way in, Farrukh and his brother tried to stop them. One of the men hit Ashkenaz on the head with an iron rod. He collapsed instantly. He died right there in front of us. I can still hear Farrukh screaming for help.”

“As neighbors started gathering,” Farrukh said, “the attackers ran away. Our Christian neighbors tried to save my brother, but he was already gone.”

Then they accused us of blasphemy.

Just when the couple thought things couldn’t get worse, they did.

“About an hour after killing my brother,” Farrukh explained, “Khalil started spreading lies. He told people that we had committed blasphemy, insulted their prophet, and burned the Quran.”

“Then we heard the announcement from the mosque,” Annie said, her hands shaking. “They said that Farrukh and his family had committed blasphemy and that everyone should go and kill us.”

“We knew at that moment we would be killed if we stayed,” Farrukh added.

We ran to save our lives.

“Everything happened so fast,” Farrukh said. “Our neighbors urged us to run. They told us the mob could arrive any time. We didn’t even get a chance to grieve my brother’s death.”

“Our neighbors took Ashkenaz’s body to the hospital,” Annie added. “We couldn’t even go with them because we had to hide.”

There was no police protection. No justice.

“We went to the authorities,” Farrukh said, “but no one helped us. Khalil had strong connections in the area. Instead of protecting us—the victims—the police ignored everything.”

Then he added the words that reveal the painful reality many minorities face:

“When false blasphemy charges were announced against us, we knew we could not rely on the authorities for protection. As a Christian minority, we have often seen how the system favors the majority, and in moments like this, officials are either unwilling or too afraid to help.”

“We were warned by other Christians,” Annie added. “They told us to leave immediately because Khalil planned to officially accuse us of blasphemy. In Pakistan, that accusation alone is enough to get you killed, even without evidence.”

We only want safety and justice.

“We lost our home, our peace, and Farrukh’s brother,” Annie said quietly. “We left everything behind to save our lives.”

“All we want,” Farrukh concluded, “is safety, justice, and the chance to live without fear.”