By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
FAISALABAD, PAKISTAN (Worthy News) - Thousands of angry Muslims attacked a Christian community in eastern Pakistan setting fire to churches and torching dozens of homes over blasphemy allegations, Christians told Worthy News.
The attacks in a Christian area of Jaranwala, in the industrial Faisalabad District of Punjab province, erupted after Muslim residents claimed two local Christians desecrated the Koran, deemed a holy book by Muslims.
Police said the two men were booked for blasphemy as they allegedly tore out pages from a Koran, threw them on the ground, and wrote insulting remarks on them.
Over 100 people were arrested over the attacks, which forced many Christian residents to flee their homes, Punjab's caretaker information minister, Amir Mir, said later on Wednesday. "People who attacked the churches are being identified through video footage," he added.
Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister Anwar ul Haq Kakar had called for stern action against those responsible for Wednesday's violence. "I am gutted by the visuals coming out," he said.
Footage sent to Worthy News by local Christians showed a crowd attacking a church and burning another. Video revealed men attacking a church with sledgehammers and setting fires.
Elsewhere a man appeared to incite Muslim crowds while speaking at a mosque. Hundreds of people also blocked a nearby highway, witnesses said.
PRAYERS URGED
“Please continue to pray for the people in Pakistan as Muslim groups attacked almost 30 churches [and related buildings],” said Christian evangelist and editor Danish Sumeel, who lives in the area.
“They desecrated Bibles and church cross[e] and burned them. We all are afraid in this intense situation and need prayer for encouragement,” Sumeel told Worthy News.
Police said at least four churches had been set on fire, but Samuel had other Christians said many more church buildings in the area were vandalized.
“We know that at least 17 and over 300 homes were ransacked,” said Pakistani Christian investigator Farrukh Saif of the Emergency Committee to Save the Persecuted and Enslaved. It was believed that number included dozens of torched homes. “Muslims were just looking for a reason to frame and attack Christians. Muslim organizations wanted to replace the assistant commissioner of Jaranwala.”
A government letter obtained by Worthy News confirmed that Shaukat Masih, the assistant commissioner of Jaranwalwa, was replaced Wednesday by a Muslim, Rana Aurangzeb.
Saif spoke to Worthy News as videos published on social media also showed Muslim protesters destroying Christian buildings while police appeared to watch on.
Blasphemy against Islam is punishable by death in Pakistan, and several Christians have been held on death row. Dozens have previously been killed by mobs after being accused of the crime, raising more fears among Christians.
Well-informed human rights lawyer Farooq Bashir told Worthy News that many Christians have “left their houses. That’s because the Muslim community announced to burn the houses and churches of the Christian community.”
FLEEING HOMES
Yassir Bhatti, a 31-year-old Christian, was one of those to flee their homes. “They broke the windows and doors and took out fridges, sofas, chairs, and other household items to pile them up in front of the Church to be burnt," he said.
"They also burnt and desecrated Bibles; they were ruthless."
The mob was made up of thousands of people led by local clerics, mainly from an Islamist political party called Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP), a government source said. The TLP denied inciting the violence and said it had worked with police to try to calm things down.
Police eventually moved in, but tensions remained high Wednesday, underscoring broader concerns about reported attacks against Christians in the Islamic nation.
Pakistani bishop Azad Marshall, in the neighboring city of Lahore, said the Christian community was "deeply pained and distressed" by the events. “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," he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
In a reaction, the United States said it was "deeply concerned that churches and homes were targeted.”
U.S. State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel added: “We urge Pakistani authorities to conduct a full investigation into these allegations and call for calm for all those involved.”