135 arrested, case filed in opposition to 600 over church assaults in Pakistan’s Faisalabad

Pakistani authorities have arrested 135 folks in reference to the unprecedented mob assault on 21 church buildings in Punjab province at the same time as the federal government on Thursday ordered a high-level probe into the riots and promised to “restore” all of the broken church buildings and houses of the minority Christian neighborhood.

An enraged mob ransacked and torched 21 church buildings and a number of other homes of Christians on Wednesday over blasphemy allegations in Jaranwala city of Faisalabad district, 130 km from Punjab’s provincial capital Lahore. A Christian cemetery and the workplace of the native assistant commissioner have been additionally vandalised.

“A case has been registered against 600 suspects under terrorism and blasphemy charges,” Punjab caretaker data minister Amir Mir mentioned on Thursday.

A Punjab police spokesman mentioned that 135 miscreants have been arrested for assaults on church buildings and homes of the minority neighborhood in Jaranwala. The members of the unconventional group Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan have been amongst these arrested.

Mir mentioned peace has been restored within the space and a heavy contingent of police and Rangers has been deployed outdoors church buildings and houses of the minority Christian neighborhood. He mentioned police foiled many makes an attempt geared toward damaging varied buildings.

“The chief minister has ordered a high-level investigation into the matter and those involved in this heinous crime will not escape justice,” he mentioned.

Meanwhile, Punjab’s Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi promised to “restore” inside three to 4 days all of the church buildings and the houses of the minority Christian neighborhood which have been attacked and torched by the mob.

Addressing a gathering attended by spiritual leaders of the Christian neighborhood on Thursday, Naqvi condemned the mob violence and mentioned such actions are in opposition to the teachings of Islam and people of the Holy Prophet.

He mentioned the mob assault was a “planned conspiracy” to “light a fire in the country and sabotage its peace.” He vowed to forestall any such “conspiracy” sooner or later.

“For the future, we should sit with our minorities and chalk out a plan to prevent such incidents,” he mentioned, urging spiritual leaders to unfold the message of the Holy Quran among the many folks.

The district administration has imposed part 144 for seven days, prohibiting all types of meeting, apart from occasions organised by the federal government in Jaranwala.

All instructional establishments, markets and enterprise institutions remained closed in Jaranwala on Thursday.

Christian neighborhood leaders in Faisalabad on Thursday assessed the injury to their holy locations and homes in Jaranwala.

A complete of 21 church buildings have both been torched or vandalised over false accusations of blasphemy, they mentioned, including that copies of lots of of Bibles have been set on fireplace.

“Twenty-one churches and 35 houses of Christians including a pastor’s residence were either burnt down completely or ransacked by the mob on Wednesday,” Pakistan Centre for Law and Justice Napoleon Qayyum advised PTI.

He mentioned though peace has been restored within the space because of the heavy deployment of police, Christians worry that Islamists would possibly strike once more.

More than 3,000 policemen and two firms of Pakistan Rangers have been deployed in Jaranwala following Wednesday’s riots.

“Most of the Christians left the area on Wednesday to save their lives and they will return only once action is taken against those who are involved in attacks on churches and Christian houses,” Qayyum mentioned.

He mentioned since Shaukat Masih, a Christian, was the Assistant Commissioner (AC) of Jaranwala, some native Muslims had a problem with it. “On the pretext of blasphemy, they first moved to the AC’s office to attack him. Mr Masih was lucky to escape,” he mentioned.

“Had the authorities in Pakistan brought those involved in attacks on Christians and their holy places to justice in the past, the Jaranwala incident might have been averted,” Qayyum mentioned, demanding the federal government rein in radical TLP members who’re on the forefront to focus on minorities in Pakistan.

The Christian households who fled their houses spent the night time within the open fields to avoid wasting themselves.

“On reports that an enraged mob is heading towards our houses in Isa Nagri, my neighbours and I left and took refuge in open fields far from our area and spent the night over there,” a member of the Christian household advised PTI.

“We can’t take our chances to return to our homes till the government provides us security and arrests those who attack our houses and holy places,” he mentioned.

The incident sparked nationwide outrage from all political events, civil society and the media.

“We are deeply concerned that churches and homes were targeted in response to reported Quran desecration in Pakistan,” US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel advised reporters.

He mentioned that whereas the US backed free expression, “violence or the threat of violence is never an acceptable form of expression,” Geo News reported.

“We urge Pakistani authorities to conduct a full investigation into these allegations and call for calm,” he mentioned.

The Islamabad police on Thursday fashioned a “Minority Protection Unit” comprising 70 policemen for the “protection of minority places of worship and communities”.

The transfer got here after Christian leaders strongly condemned what they known as police inaction throughout the entire episode. They claimed that police performed the position of silent spectators when Christian households have been crying for assist, and delayed their response till the residents have been compelled to desert their homes, leaving them on the mercy of the attackers, the Dawn newspaper reported.

President Bishop of the Church of Pakistan Azad Marshall condemned the violence, saying the copies of the Bible have been burnt and desecrated, and members of the Christian neighborhood have been tortured and harassed after being “falsely accused of violating the Holy Quran.” “We cry out for justice and action from law enforcement and those who dispense justice and the safety of all citizens to intervene immediately and assure us that our lives are valuable in our own homeland that has just celebrated independence and freedom,” he mentioned.

“The Pakistani state has failed to provide security to the worship places of people who follow religions other than Islam. Impunity to the crimes committed in the name of religion has emboldened extremists and terrorists,” he added.

Amnesty International, in its assertion, has demanded that the “authorities must ensure [the] protection of the minority Christian community”.

Rehab Mahamoor, the interim regional researcher for South Asia at Amnesty International, mentioned the authorities must also be certain that these liable for the arson and assaults on Churches and houses are held accountable.

Blasphemy is a delicate challenge in Pakistan, the place anybody deemed to have insulted Islam or Islamic figures can face the demise penalty. Often an accusation could cause riots and incite mobs to violence, lynching and killings.

According to the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), until August 16, 2023, round 198 individuals have been accused of blasphemy, 85 per cent of them Muslims, 9 per cent Ahmadis and 4.4 per cent Christians.

It mentioned the Punjab province recorded over 75 per cent of the abuse of blasphemy legal guidelines instances up to now 36 years. “The aggregate accused comprises 52pc of minorities despite their share (3.52pc) in the population of Pakistan,” the CSJ posted on X.

Minorities together with Christians and Hindus have been ceaselessly subjected to blasphemy allegations and a few tried and even sentenced underneath blasphemy in Pakistan.

Edited By:

chingkheinganbi mayengbam

Published On:

Aug 18, 2023