by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) - Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Feb. 13 rebuked the Punjab Province government for only charging 18 of the 304 Muslims who were arrested for attacking Christians during a riot in Jaranwala last summer, Morning Star News (MSN) reports.
Led by activists of the Islamic extremist political party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), on Aug. 16, 2023 Muslim rioters in Jaranwala ransacked and burned churches and the homes of Christians after two believers were falsely accused of desecrating the Quran.
In hearing a case on the rights of minorities Tuesday, the three-judge Supreme Court panel in Islamabad told a Punjab law officer that the progress report produced by local authorities on the Jaranwala attacks was “worthy of being thrown into the dustbin,” MSN reports.
“I am feeling ashamed that only 18 challans [charge sheets] were submitted in the case in the last six months,” Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa said. “We keep raising hue and cry over ‘Islamophobia’ wherever we go in the world. But what are we doing here in Pakistan? Have we ever thought about that? Do we want to follow in the footsteps of India, where minorities are not safe?”
“The manner in which the investigation was conducted and the apparent hesitation shown by the law enforcement agencies in identifying the culprits will only bring disrepute to the police force,” Isa continued. “Instead, it seems that the functionaries of the state also become intimidated by the persons who take the law into their own hands, and at times, rather than protecting the life and properties of non-Muslims, advance the agenda of the perpetrators.”
Calling on the federal and provincial governments and the media to encourage “interfaith harmony” and to “forthrightly denounce events where non-Muslim citizens come under attack,” Isa ordered the Punjab Police to launch a fresh investigation into the Jaranwala attacks and to bring the perpetrators to justice. He warned that officers would be suspended if they did not comply with the order. The judge also directed the Punjab government to submit a report on the progress of the reconstruction work on church buildings and compensation paid to victims, MSN reports.
Muslim-majority Pakistan ranks 7th on the US Open Doors World Watch List 2024 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.