A SOCIAL worker and community volunteer left in a critical condition after being beaten around the head with a baseball bat during a holiday in Pakistan has discharged himself from hospital because of fears over his safety.

Mohsin Ilyas, 29, was with his father Mohammad in the village of Kallar Syedan when the attack happened this month, his family said.

Shortly after leaving the family home in the village, the pair were approached by people in two cars who forced them to stop and started attacking them.

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Mohsin, from Nelson, used his own body to shield his father and as a result suffered a fractured skull and cracked cheekbone and needed 28 stitches in head wounds.

It is believed the attack may be connected to the arranged marriages and divorces of two of his sisters.

Mohsin had been in hospital in Islamabad, which is around an hour from the village, but left recently after becoming concerned for his safety.

His family have launched a campaign to bring the attackers to justice but said that they are still struggling to get permission for him to fly home.

Mohsin, who is well known for his volunteer work in Nelson, is one of eight siblings living in the Bentley Street area of the town. His parents, Mohammad and mother Ghulan Sughra, moved to the area from Pakistan more than 40 years ago.

One of his sisters, Rehana Ilyas, said: “It is a horrendous situation and it is a struggle every day.

“We keep on being told that the police need ‘just one more day’ but that has been going on for weeks.

“He is still in desperate need of medical attention but there was no way of him staying in the hospital.

“We are doing all we can and we all want him home as soon as possible.”

Shortly after the incident the family contacted Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson for his assistance.

He said: “I have contacted the High Commission in Islamabad and the High Commission in London who have applied pressure on the government and the local police service.

“The system in Pakistan is a bureaucratic nightmare.

“Things move so slowly there and my primary concern is to get him out of that country as soon as possible.”