A Christian pastor in Pakistan was shot and killed outside his home by an assassin riding a motorcycle.
Rev. Kamran Salamat, 45, was attacked on Dec. 5 and found with wounds to the lower abdomen, right wrist, and left ear. Salamat was about to take his daughter, 16, to her college. After gunning him down, the motorcyclist, who is suspected to have been accompanied by two other men, fled unharmed.
“My brother-in-law succumbed to his injuries at the hospital three hours later,” Rev. Shahzad Salman, Salamat’s brother-in-law, told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News.
Salamat, a father of three, had reportedly traveled to Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, a tribal region, to conduct outreaches. There, the Presbyterian pastor preached the Gospel to Afghan and Pakastani Muslim tribesmen.
“We are absolutely clueless as to who was behind the attacks on Rev. Kamran,” Salman said. “The Gujranwala police are making efforts to trace the gunman from CCTV footage gathered from the spot, but so far he hasn’t been identified.”
In September, Salamat had been targeted and shot in the leg by an attacker. Seeking safety, he and his family moved from the Islamabad territory to the Gujranwala district. There, he ran a sewing center serving poor Christian women.
“Rev. Kamran was a committed missionary, but he never shared the details of his mission work with his family,” Salman said. “In fact, when he was attacked in September, he refused to pursue the case and told the police that he had forgiven his unknown assailant. Even after the incident, he never revealed to us who was threatening his life.”
A congregation of Christians gathered to honor him on Dec. 6., where they watched his burial. Across social media, pastors honored his life and condemned the violence.
Rev. Reuben Qamar, moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Pakistan, grieved Kamran’s death through a public statement on Facebook.
“We mourn the heinous killing of Pastor Kamran Salamat, a faithful servant of God,” Qamar posted. “His death is not only a personal loss but another wound to the Christians in Pakistan. Even in our grief, we remain steadfast in hope, rejoicing in Jesus’s victory over the darkness, sharing peace and love to this hostile world.”
“Extremists had been pursuing him and threatening him everywhere he went,” Pastor Naeem Nasir posted on Facebook. “He moved from Islamabad to Gujranwala, but they were still not satisfied. They wanted to stop his passion for preaching the Gospel.”
Pakistan ranks as the eighth-most difficult country to live in as a Christian, according to Open Doors’ 2025 World Watchlist. More than 96% of the nation’s population is Muslim, and about 1.8% identify as Christians. Christians are often targeted by Islamic blasphemy laws and face murder by mobs due to blasphemy accusations. Christian homes have been targeted with burnings, and churches have experienced bombings.
