PESHAWAR, April 27: The city police have yet to arrest the key suspect in the murders of a Christian pastor and his driver early this month. Abdul Qadir of Multan was a prayer leader at a mosque in Peshawar. He later converted to Christianity with the help of Baber Samson, pastor at the Jesus Pan Gospel Church in Father’s Colony, Yousufabad.

He was close to Baber Samson and was among a few persons with whom the pastor used to share important matters, residents of Father’s Colony and family sources said.

Before the kidnapping of Pastor Samson and his driver Daniel on April 5, and their subsequent murder, Mr Qadir had told the deceased pastor that he was going to Iran for a carpet deal, the family sources said.

But police sources claim that he remained in the city and did not proceed to Iran which raises doubts.

“We are still not clear, whether Baber Samson was killed for converting Muslims to Christianity or over some monetary dispute,” said Ms Jameela, a representative of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) in Peshawar.

“According to our findings, Mr Samson used to work in poor communities through his NGO, Ilam Dost Foundation, but residents of those areas said that he was also preaching Christianity in poor Muslim localities,” Ms Jameela maintained.

According to some residents of the Father’s Colony, the police played a negative role in the whole episode and arrested four innocent people on two different charges.

The police arrested Samina, daughter of Shan Khan, and her brother-in-law, Saeed Ahmad, on the day the pastor and his driver were kidnapped.

The arrests were made on information provided by the wife of Mr Samson as her younger brother-in-law, Aamir, loved Samina and both had decided to get married, residents and family sources said.

Aamir was willing to embrace Islam for marrying Samina, but Baber Samson was against it. Later, the entire family boycotted Aamir and he left for Karachi to close the chapter of his relations with Samina.

Almost ten days after the murders, police arrested Amin Bhatti, member of the small church committee and accountant in the Interlit Education Trust and another person Patras. The police alleged that they were part of a plan of kidnapping and murders.

Police officials claimed that a foreign donor had sent $60,000 to Baber Samson and only a few people knew about it, including Amin Bhatti and Patras. They were also suspected in the case, but the key suspect Abdul Qadir, had not yet been arrested, the officials said.

The kidnappers had demanded Rs3.6 million ransom, which was almost equal to the amount transferred by the foreign donor to the bank account of Mr Samson, which indicated the kidnapper was someone close to him, the officials maintained.

“It may be true. But the money is still in the bank account of Mr Samson and the killers did not get anything,” Ms Jameela of the HRCP said.

It was a religion-related crime and monetary issue might have some link, she said while giving some details of HRCP findings.

Baber Samson had set up secret chapels, one in Charsadda and another near Islamia College here, where he used to hold meetings with people who were helping him to work in the poor community.

He used to take pictures of those who wanted to convert to Christianity to send them to foreign donors and seek financial help for them, the sources said.

Baber Samson remained the employee of the Shelter Now International (SNI) — the foreign NGO — whose 24 international and Afghan workers were arrested by the ousted Taliban regime in July 2001 in Afghanistan.

The Taliban authorities had accused four Germans, two Australians, two Americans and 16 Afghan workers of trying to convert Muslims to Christianity.