A city in Pakistan has been witnessing violence as Muslims have burned four churches, destroyed homes of some Christians, claiming that two men degraded the Quran, police say.
According to residents, Jaranwala city has been the centre of violence where not only churches but buildings connected to them have also been attacked. Jaranwala is a city in eastern Punjab. Police have arrested 100 rioters and started investigation into the case. Additionally, police have registered a case against two Christians, local residents, under the blasphemy law, according to which anyone found guilty of destroying Quran can be sentenced to death.
No deaths have been reported in the violence so far, however, the situation is far from becoming normal.
Even though Pakistan has not yet executed anyone for blasphemy, even the mere accusation can spark large-scale protests that result in lynchings and murders.
A man from Sri Lanka was slain and his body was burnt on fire two years ago after he was accused of blasphemy. Six persons were killed and over 60 homes were destroyed by a mob in Punjab’s Gorja area in 2009 after they were accused of disrespecting Islam.
During their colonial rule, the British enacted a blasphemy-punishing legislation in the nineteenth century. But in the 1980s, law enforcement imposed harsher penalties for violations including the death penalty for anybody who insults Islam.
The majority of people in Pakistan are Muslims—about 96%. Other nations that use the death penalty include Iran, Brunei, and Mauritania.
Since Pakistan made blasphemy a capital offence, there has been an increase in religious-motivated violence since it “bolsters violent behaviour,” according to Iftekharul Bashar, a researcher at the think tank RSIS who studies political and religious violence in South Asia. He said, “The Pakistani society has experienced increased fragmentation, driven by widening economic disparities, leading to an upsurge in violence directed towards minority religious groups. The emergence of extremist and vigilante factions within Pakistan, some of which exhibit significant financial backing, also contributed to this trouble trend.”
According to a local official who spoke to BBC Urdu, as stories of the two men reportedly desecrating the Quran, the holy book of Islam, spread on social media early on Wednesday morning, authorities received complaints concerning protests and fires.
Authorities reported that they discovered shredded pages of the holy book close to a Christian community that had blasphemous writing on them in red marker.
The reports went viral on social media and in the city, upsetting the Muslim population. Mobs attacked and pillaged Christian’s homes during the ensuing bloodshed.
Christian Yassir Bhatti, age 31, was one of many who had to leave their houses. Talking to AFP news, Bhatti said, “They broke the windows, doors and took out fridges, sofas, chairs and other household items to pile them up in front of the Church to be burnt. They also burnt and desecrated Bibles, they were ruthless.”
Social media videos show demonstrators demolishing Christian structures as it appears that cops are looking on.
The alleged blasphemy was denounced by Punjab province’s communications minister, Amir Mir, who also said that thousands of police officers had been dispatched to the scene and that dozens of people had been detained. Anwar ul-Haq Kakar, the acting prime minister, urged immediate action against the perpetrators of the violence.
“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 posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
According to a government source who spoke to Reuters, the majority of the mob was made up of members of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) political party. The TLP has refuted all accusations.
The Christian community was “deeply pained and distressed” by what took place, said bishop Azad Marshall living in the adjacent city of Lahore.
