Pakistan’s notorious blasphemy system has once made headlines as several churches were vandalised, set ablaze in Punjab province’s Faisalabad district by a mob who were reportedly incited by clerics, said officials.

The vandalised churches included the Salvation Army Church, United Presbyterian Church, Allied Foundation Church and Shehroonwala Church located in the Isa Nagri area of Jaranwala tehsil, said Jaranwala pastor Imran Bhatti to Dawn. The house of a Christian cleaner, who was also accused of blasphemy, was also demolished by the mob, said Imran Bhatti.

A Christian leader Akmal Bhatti alleged that the crowd had set ablaze at least five churches and looted valuables from houses that were abandoned by their owners after clerics incited the mob through announcements in mosques.

Church of Pakistan President Bishop Azad Marshall, in a post on X (formerly Twitter) said, “We, Bishops, Priests and lay people are deeply pained and distressed at the Jaranwala incident in the Faisalabad District in Pakistan.”

“Bibles have been desecrated and Christians have been tortured and harrased having been falsely accused of violating the Holy Quran,” he further said.

Punjab police chief Usman Anwar said that the police was negotiating with the protesters and cordoned off the area. “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 said.

While Anwar maintained the police was trying to contain the situation with the help of peace committees, Christian leaders alleged that they remained silent spectators.

Reactions from Pakistani politicians

The newly-appointed caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan, Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, expressed anguish over the vandalism of churches and said that stern action would be taken against the perpetrators.

“I am gutted by the visuals coming out of Jaranwala,#Faisalabad. Stern action would be taken against those who violate law and target minorities. All law enforcement has been asked to apprehend culprits and bring them to justice. Rest assured that the government of Pakistan stands with our citizenry on equal basis,” he tweeted.

Former Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah strongly condemned the ‘dastardly attack’ and called for immediate action against the perpetrators involved in the vandalism.

“Strongly condemn the dastardly attack on the church in Jaranwala today. The culprits must be brought to justice at the earliest, and the law should take its due course. Extremism and hatred nullify the fundamental principles of Islam,” he said.

Former Senator Afrasaib Khattak lamented that Pakistan had “failed to provide security to worship places of people who follow religions other than Islam” and said that terrorists have been emboldened due to impunity granted to crimes committed under the garb of religion.

Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto also reacted to the incident, saying that “violating the sanctity of places of worship is absolutely unacceptable” and called on the provincial administration to ensure safety of Christian communities.

Religious minorities in Pakistan targeted by blasphemy law

Notably, many religious minorities in Pakistan, including Christians and Hindus, have been frequently subjected to blasphemy allegations and have been tried and sentenced under the country’s strict blasphemy law. Accusations of blasphemy provokes people into taking matters into their own hands and emboldens ‘mob justice’ which has claimed several lives.

Earlier this week, a Hindu man was arrested on blasphemy charges in the Rahim Yar Khan city of the Punjab province. According to the FIR, the complainant mentioned that the accused man would give objectionable statements about Islam and Muslims.

Last week, an English teacher was shot dead by unidentified gunmen on an allegation of blasphemy in Balochistan’s Kech district. According to a report by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) in 2022, as many as 89 people have been killed in 1,415 accusations and cases of blasphemy since 1947.

As per the report, the misuse of blasphemy laws has been deemed unlawful by courts, including the Islamabad High Court (IHC) suggesting the legislature to amend the laws to give equal punishment to false accusers.

However, despite several calls to amend the blasphemy laws, the Pakistan Senate passed a Bill earlier this month to ramp up punishment for blasphemy to 10 years of imprisonment. Human Rights Minister had then suggested former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that the state had a duty to protect religious minorities.

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