Violence and Blasphemy Allegations Shake Pakistan: Churches Burned and Christian Homes Attacked
Violence Erupts in Pakistan: Christian Properties Targeted, Churches Set Ablaze Amid Blasphemy Allegations
In a day-long spree of violence, an agitated Pakistani mob set fire to at least five churches and wreaked havoc on residences belonging to the Christian community. The unrest, triggered by allegations of blasphemy, escalated to such a degree that the government had to deploy additional police forces and call in the army to restore order.
The Spark of the Mob Attack
The turmoil unfolded in Jaranwala, a locality within Faisalabad in the Punjab province. This tumultuous incident ensued after some inhabitants of the area, who were Muslim, claimed to have witnessed a local Christian resident named Raja Amir and his companion defiling pages of a Quran. Allegedly, these individuals tore out pages, threw them on the ground, and defaced other pages with disrespectful remarks.
Police Chief Rizwan Khan stated that this purported act incited the local Muslim populace, leading them to assault numerous churches and multiple Christian households. The ensuing destruction resulted in the burning of furniture and other domestic belongings. Faced with the mob’s fury, certain members of the Christian community were compelled to evacuate their homes.
Ahad Noor, an official from the district government, recounted, “The crowd caused extensive devastation in the area, including significant damage to homes of Christians and several churches.”
Amplified Provocation
According to sources, the situation took a turn for the worse when members of the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) used mosques and other public platforms to make announcements, inciting people to converge upon the location of the alleged incident.
Social media was flooded with videos and photos showcasing the hostile mob converging on a church, hurling bricks and setting it ablaze. In another footage, two additional churches suffered attacks, with windows shattered and attackers flinging furniture out before igniting it.
In one particularly distressing video, the crowd can be seen cheering and demanding retribution for the accused blasphemers as a cross is forcibly removed from the apex of a church.
Desecration and Destruction
Yasir Bhatti, a 31-year-old Christian resident, recounted his narrow escape from the rampage. He lived in an alley adjacent to one of the churches targeted by the mob. Bhatti shared, “They shattered windows and doors, hauled out appliances, sofas, chairs, and various possessions from homes, and piled them up in front of the church to be set on fire. They also burned and desecrated Bibles; their actions were ruthless.”
Father Gulshan Barkat, a lecturer specializing in church history at the National Catholic Institute of Theology in Karachi, refuted the blasphemy allegations as baseless. He pointed out that local mosques also bore responsibility, as they had earlier used loudspeakers to call upon Muslims to assemble and “assault the churches and the Christian community.”