Christians Call for Mourning as Pakistan Region Erupts in Anti-Christian Violence

Christian schools throughout Pakistan will go on strike today, Nov. 17th in protest against the attacks on Christians in Sangla Hill, Punjab last Saturday Nov. 12th, reports Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW).

|TOP|The wave of attacks against Christians in the region has been condemned by faith leaders of all religions, including Hindu, Sikh and Muslim, and the All Pakistan Ministries Alliance (APMA) has declared seven days of mourning in the aftermath.

Church leaders have spoke out powerfully, calling the Pakistan authorities to ensure all efforts are made to capture the ringleaders of the violent acts.

The recent spate of attacks have been Pakistan’s worst outbreak of anti-Christian violence since gunmen attacked a church on Christmas Day in 2002.

However, last weekend’s violence saw an angry mob destroy Roman Catholic, Salvation Army and United Presbyterian churches, after accusing a Christian man of desecrating the Koran.

A huge mob are said to have gathered between one to two thousand members, before going on to carry out the attacks at 10.30am. Three churches were destroyed as well as a covenant, St Anthony’s School, a girl’s hostel and a Catholic priests home.

|AD|In horrendous attacks, Bibles, Christian literature, cross and all Christian materials the mob could find were burned. The angry mob then went on and set fire to known-Christian homes in the area.

APMA has immediately sent a team to the area, and its representatives told that “within minutes, the Christian residential area was blazing. Christian residents fled to save their lives.”

In a suspected organised attack, mob members were brought to the village in buses, report CSW.

Predicting the attacks, more than 450 Christian families had fled the area the previous night after receiving death threats, according to the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP).

CSW reveal that a local priest had in fact informed the police 12 hours prior to the attacks and had requested urgent protection, but it appears as if no action was taken by the police.

In the aftermath of the attacks it is reported that 88 people have been arrested and charged under the Pakistani Anti-Terrorism Act, however, APMA state that the core organisers of the violence remain at large.

Immediately following the weekend’s attacks, Catholic Archbishop of Lahore, Lawrence Saldanha issued a statement saying, “In the wake of the earthquake ... this lawlessness is bad news for the country. The situation calls for serious action on the part of everybody concerned with the well being of the country.”

A local Christian had been accused under the blasphemy law, however, it is believed that the accusation was falsely yet deliberately made to instigate violence after a debt argument involving the accused.

Rebuking the country’s blasphemy laws, Saldanha continued, “The main sources and tools for creating social, sectarian and inter-religious disharmony. It is negligence on the part of the ministries responsible, who allow the misuse [of the blasphemy laws] at such a large scale, causing a huge amount of injustice.”

The Archbishop joined with the Covenor of the Joint Action Committee Shah Tai Oizelbasj, and NCJP Executive Secretary Peter Jacob in accusing the local police of being party to the attack. They united in calls for an “immediate judicial inquiry” and disciplinary actions to be taken against the police for “criminal negligence”.

The CSW Chief Executive, Mervyn Thomas said, “This is a gross act of violence, which will further deepen sectarian tensions in Pakistan. We condemn the Sangla Hill attacks and urge the Pakistani authorities to take immediate action to bring the perpetrators to justice. This violence demonstrates how badly misused the blasphemy laws have been. The rights of religious minorities have been neglected for too long. The time has come for Pakistan to repeal the blasphemy laws, and work for equal rights for all religious communities.”