5 churches in Pakistan vandalised after Christian family accused of blasphemy

Mangalore Today News Network

Faisalabad, Aug 16, 2023: At least five churches were vandalised and the surrounding Christian settlements were ransacked in Pakistan’s Faisalabad after a Christian family was accused of blasphemy.

 

The incident took place on Wednesday in Faisalabad’s Jaranwala district. The local Muslims were enraged after a Christian man, who works as a cleaner, made alleged derogatory remarks against the Quran. Not only was his house demolished, but the mob also vandalised churches and other Christian settlements in the area.

Videos on social media showed a frenzied mob climbing atop churches and kicking the holy cross -- a symbol of reverence for the Christians.

Some videos also showed Muslim clerics inciting the mob to mobilise if the police failed to take action against the "blasphemers".

A Christian leader, Akmal Bhatti, said the crowd had "torched" at least five churches and looted valuables from houses, according to a Reuters report.

Another local Christian leader in Jaranwala, Imran Bhatti, claimed that at least four churches were vandalised, as per Dawn.

According to a report in Dawn, Punjab police chief Usman Anwar said they were negotiating with the protesters and the area had been cordoned off. However, local Christians complained that the police remained mute spectators as their houses were ransacked.

The police registered a first information report (FIR) against the accused Christian man under sections 295B (defiling, etc., of the Holy Quran) and 295C (use of derogatory remarks, etc., in respect of the Holy Prophet) of the Pakistan Penal Code, Dawn reported.

“There are narrow lanes [in the area] in which small two to three marla churches are located and there is one main church...they have vandalised portions of the churches,” police chief Usman Anwar told Dawn.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), President Bishop of the Church of Pakistan Azad Marshall said that Bibles were desecrated and Christians were tortured and harrassed, having been "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,” Bishop Marshall said.

Former senator Afrasiab Khattak said, "This is condemnable. 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. Bring the culprits to book."

Courtesy: India Today