By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
JARANWALA (Worthy News) - More than 100 were arrested, and criminal investigations were launched against hundreds of others in east Pakistan city after thousands of Muslims burned churches and vandalized homes, Christians and officials said Thursday.
The violence in a Christian area of Jaranwala city was sparked by claims that two Christian men had torn pages from the Koran, deemed a holy book by Muslims.
The two men were charged with blasphemy, which is punishable by death in Pakistan, Christians, and officials said.
Even though Pakistan has yet to sentence anyone to death for blasphemy, a mere accusation can result in widespread riots, sometimes leading to lynchings and killings.
Additionally, people can suffer behind bars for years on trumped-up charges of blasphemy before they are released, according to Christians and human rights activists.
Blasphemy allegations surrounding Thursday’s riots were also a pretext to replace the area’s Christian assistant commissioner, according to sources familiar with the situation.
A local government letter leaked to Worthy News showed Shaukat Masih, the assistant commissioner of Jaranwalwa, was replaced Wednesday by a Muslim, Rana Aurangzeb.
CHRISTIANS URGE PRAYERS
Though several arrests were made, Christians in the area remained concerned. Many who fled their torched and vandalized homes spent the night in an open field, footage sent to Worthy News revealed.
A well-informed Christian in Pakistan’s Punjab province said Christians living around Jaranwalwa fear angry Muslim crowds could still move towards them. “We live 30 kilometers (about 18 miles) from there, but we have information that they are now marching towards our home. We are leaving our home now,” Christian evangelist and reporter Danish Sumeel told Worthy News. “Please pray for us,” he added in a text message.
He spoke as the historic Salvation Army Church was still smoldering on Thursday, one day after the riot, in which thousands of angry Muslims attacked churches and as many as hundreds of Christian homes and buildings.
Yet Pakistani Christian investigator Farrukh Saif of the Emergency Committee to Save the Persecuted and Enslaved urged Christiana to remain calm. He pointed to criminal investigations launched by police, a copy of which was sent to Worthy News. “Even a strong police backup is on its way to the Faisalabad area and nearby Christian villages,” he explained to Worthy News.
Following the violence, at least 129 Muslims were arrested overnight, police said, but more arrests were expected.
Human rights lawyer Farooq Bashir told Worthy News that up to 600 still, unidentified persons face potential charges. “The case includes 18 provisions including terrorism, attempted murder, police resistance and blasphemy” against Islam, he told Worthy News.
Among those charged were reportedly local Muslim leaders identified as Amir Jamaat Ahlesunnat, Mufti Muhammad Younas, and Syed Asifullah Shah Bukhari, the district leader of the Islamist political party Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP).
TLP DENIES WRONGDOING
The TLP denied inciting the violence and said it had worked with police to calm things down. However that Younas and Bukhari were among those leading the violent protests.
“Demonstrators entered Christian settlements in groups and set fire to churches and houses,” Bashir said, adding that riot police eventually controlled the violent mob.
Several people were injured in the clashes, including police officers. No deaths were reported.
However, the clashes underscored broader concerns about pressure on devoted Christians, including former Muslims, in the Islamic nation.
Saif suggested that anger became clear in Jaranwala, where he explained that all the area’s 17 churches suffered damage. Footage obtained by Worthy News showed men taking off a cross from the roof of a church and throwing it onto the ground.
Delegations of Muslim clerics have reportedly arrived in Jaranwala to help calm the situation, and troops and police patrolled the area, witnesses said.
Local authorities shut schools and offices and banned rallies for a week “to prevent more violence.”
GOVERNMENT CONDEMNS VIOLENCE
The violence drew nationwide condemnation, with caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul-ul-Haq Kakar ordering police to ensure the rioters were arrested. The United States also condemned the attacks.
Pakistan ranks 7th on the annual World Watch List of 50 nations where advocacy group Open Doors claims Christians face the most persecution.
“Pakistan's notorious blasphemy laws target religious minorities, including Muslim minorities) but affect the Christian minority in particular. Roughly a quarter of all blasphemy accusations target Christians, who only make up 1.8 percent of the population,” Open Doors said in a recent assessment.
“The number of blasphemy cases is increasing, as is the number of Christian and other minority religion girls being abducted, abused, and forcibly converted to Islam,” the group added.
In addition to social hostility, Christians also experience apathy from the authorities who should protect them, Open Doors complained. “The police force is more interested in appeasing local strongmen than implementing the law and protecting minorities.”
It claimed that courts “have a slightly better track record in enforcing the law fairly,” but lengthy delays are commonplace. “Christians often languish in prison for years before judgment is handed down, and it is then too late to bring about change.”