Police Deny Taliban Involvement in Murder of Swedish Christian Aid Worker in Pakistan
by JNS.org
Police continue to deny that Swedish Christian aid worker Birgitta Almby—who was fatally shot by two assailants outside of her Lahore, Pakistan home this month and later died in her native Sweden—was killed by the Taliban.
Friends and colleagues suspect Islamic extremists were behind the Dec. 3 attack, but the police currently have no suspects, Morning Star News reported.
Almby had served the beleaguered Pakistani Christian community for several decades through a Christian-run FGA Technical Training Institute and Bible School, as well as an orphanage.
“Almby will be missed dearly,” FGA Bible School Principal Liaqat Qaiser. “She spent a long time serving the poor and downtrodden Christians in Pakistan, and every Christian is very sad at her demise.”
Qaiser feels that she was the target of Islamic extremism, which has been a growing threat in Pakistan.
“Who else would want to murder someone as apolitical and harmless as Almby, who had dedicated her life to serving humanity?” he asked.
According to the local police superintendent, there are no witnesses to the murder. Police rejected claims that the al-Qaeda linked Punjabi Taliban was involved. However, the assailants did not take any valuables after they shot her.
JNS.org columnist Ben Cohen wrote for Commentary that the Pakistani police’s denial of Taliban involvement is typical for a case like this.
“Superintendent Dogar’s statements are yet more confirmation that, whether through fear or collusion or a combination of the two, every Pakistani security agency appears to crumble at the mere mention of the Taliban,” Cohen wrote.