Christian Village Attacked in Pakistan, Church Leaders Express Solidarity

A delegation of church leaders to the Christian community of Sangla Hill, Pakistan, expressed their solidarity after around 2,000 Muslims destroyed churches and Christian properties, following allegations that a young Christian had burned a copy of the Qu’ran, reports AsiaNews.

|TOP|Members of the delegation included Monsignor Lawrence John Saldanha, Archbishop of Lahore Catholic diocese, Bishop Alexander John Malik, Moderator of the Church of Pakistan, Victor Azraiah, National Council of Churches in Pakistan.

Bishop Samuel Azariah, representative of The Salvation Army, Fr. Emmanuel Yousaf Mani, national director of the National Commission of Justice and Peace (NCJP), and Fr. Andrew Ansari, Vicar General of Lahore Catholic dioceses, were also among the delegation.

Mgr Lawrence John Saldanha, Archbishop of Lahore Archdiocese and Chairman National Commission for Justice and Peace, told AsiaNews that, "the attack seems to have been planned and organized as the attackers were brought to the site in buses and instigated to commit violence and arson.

It gave our people a lot of fear and anxiety but we hope the government will do something."

Saqib Sohail Bhatti, a Christian general councilor of Sangla Hill told AsiaNews the accusations were false: "Yousaf Masih is an illiterate person and cannot distinguish the Koran from any other book."

|AD|Chaudhary Pervaiz Elahi, Chief Minister of Punjab, met with the delegation at Archbishop’s House, Lahore, on Monday, where he expressed his grief over the incident, in which churches, a convent, two Catholic schools, the houses of a Protestant pastor and a parish priest, a girls’ hostel and Christian homes were vandalised and set on fire.

The Lahore archdiocese condemned the local police for failing to put a stop to the violence. The delegation urged the Chief Minister, who promised action against the culprits and to meet the reconstruction costs, to visit the area and take steps to end religious intolerance.

The church leaders announced that all schools belonging to churches will be closed on November 17 in protest against the violence.

Christians in the area allege that the attacks were not because of the actions of Yousaf Masih, the Christian man accused of burning the Koran, but rather the result of the culprits losing in gambling with Mr Masih.

According to Indian newspaper, The Hindu, around 90 Muslims have been arrested in connection with the attacks.