Pakistan: Bishops Appeal For 'Justice' As Mobs Burn Churches, Houses Over Blasphemy Allegations
The ransacked churches include the Salvation Army Church, United Presbyterian Church, Allied Foundation Church and Shehroonwala Church situated in the Isa Nagri area.
New Delhi: In a shocking incident, a violent crowd in Pakistan vandalised several churches and set houses on fire in Faisalabad on Wednesday over blasphemy allegations, police said. The incident took place in Jaranwala town after the crowd accused Christian community members of desecrating the Quran, reported Pakistan-based Dawn News.
The Muslim crowd had attacked the community after two Christians were accused of blasphemy, Reuters reported quoting police spokesman Naveed Ahmad.
The area has been cordoned off as police try to negotiate with the crowd, provincial police chief Usman Anwar told Dawn News.
One main church and a number of smaller ones had been vandalised, he said. “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,” he told Dawn.
Speaking to Dawn, Imran Bhatti, the pastor of the Jaranwala tehsil, said that the ransacked churches included the Salvation Army Church, United Presbyterian Church, Allied Foundation Church and Shehroonwala Church situated in the Isa Nagri area. Bhatti further said that the house of a Christian cleaner, who was accused of blasphemy, has also been demolished.
According to the media report, the police have lodged a FIR against the accused 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.
The Christian leaders, however, alleged that the police remained silent spectators.
President Bishop of the Church of Pakistan Azad Marshall said that bishops, priests, and common people are "deeply pained and distressed at the Jaranwala incident in the Faisalabad District in Pakistan," he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. Bibles have been desecrated and Christians have been tortured and harassed having been falsely accused of violating the Holy Quran," he added.
Words fail me as I write this. We, Bishops, Priests and lay people are deeply pained and distressed at the Jaranwala incident in the Faisalabad District in Pakistan. A church building is being burnt as I type this message. Bibles have been desecrated and Christians have been… pic.twitter.com/xruE83NPXL
— Bishop Azad Marshall (@BishopAzadM) August 16, 2023
"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," the post said.
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