Anthony Shaukat, a student belonging to Lahore, has been allegedly shot dead in Portugal.
The young student was fatally attacked in Portugal while pursuing his degree project, leaving his loved ones devastated and seeking justice.
Shaukat, a resident of Kot Khawaja Saeed in Lahore, had travelled to Portugal from Sweden to work on his degree project, his family claimed. They added that his academic journey took a tragic turn when he fell victim to assailants, allegedly during a robbery incident.
His elderly father invested his entire life's savings on his son's education. The family sent their son to Europe for studies after mortgaging the upper floor of the house, family sources said.
They urged the Portuguese government to arrest the suspects involved in the murder. His family further claimed Shaukat had been killed after torture. They called upon the Pakistani government for justice and appealed to it for swift action to bring back Shaukat's body.
Expressing grief over the tragedy, Shaukat's friends and fellow Christians in Pakistan mourned his loss through social media posts.
A Facebook page claiming to be "Official Fan Page of Christians in Pakistan" said the student had been missing for a while and had been shot in a robbery incident. "He was doing much to guide students to get scholarships," the page stated.
Another person, claiming to be Shaukat's friend, also posted about the incident on Facebook. Another user, Naeem Bhatti, had posted on Facebook a couple of days ago seeking information about the whereabouts of Shaukat, whom he said was his uncle. "My uncle Anthony Shaukat, is missing in Europe for many days. If anyone has seen him in Europe, contact us and share this post as much as possible," said the post, with a picture of the young man.
Later on Friday morning, he posted that his younger maternal uncle had been shot dead in Portugal. He also reshared another user's post, which said the deceased was a well-educated, talented young man who used to share useful information about immigration to Europe on his Youtube channel.
