Pakistani bishop describes anti-Christian mob violence as ‘dark day’

MUMBAI – An attack on Christians in north-central Pakistan on May 25 by an angry Muslim mob who accused a Christian of defaced the Koran was a “black day” for the country’s Christian community, Pakistan’s top Catholic official said.

“I condemn this incident in the strongest possible terms. It is a dark day for the Church in Pakistan,” said Bishop Samson Shukardin of Hyderabad, chairman of the Pakistani Bishops’ Conference. core in the aftermath of the attack.

“Without any knowledge or investigation (of the Koran allegation), the mob attacked a 74-year-old Christian,” Shukardin said. “Christians are very disappointed and frightened.”

Many observers have long complained that such outbreaks of violence are encouraged by Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws. But Shukardin said the church is not calling for the repeal of these laws, but rather for them to be applied sensibly.

“Many Muslims have condemned this incident, there are many good Muslims, but the majority attack based on mere allegations,” he said. “Many of the complaints are based on fabricated evidence and the real reasons are personal revenge or gain.”

“Envy of the economic development of Christians is one of the reasons for this attack,” Shukardin said. “They are using the law against Christians to trigger professional rivalries. Christians are afraid to start and open businesses because Muslims do not accept it.”

Shukardin also praised local police for intervening and preventing deaths.

According to local observers, hundreds of Muslims took part in violence in Pakistan’s Sargodha, Punjab province, on Saturday. The incident began with an accusation that a Christian had desecrated Islam’s holy book, which was followed by an attack in which his shoe factory was burned to the ground.

Sargodha police chief Sariq Khan was quoted by local media as saying that officers rescued at least five people from the violence and that stones and bricks were thrown at police officers during the brawl.

A police spokesman said the violence was now under control and officers were investigating allegations involving the Koran, which would be a crime under Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws.

According to local sources, at least one Christian named Lazar was seriously injured during the violence and is currently in hospital. In total, about 25 people have been arrested.

“This ugly incident of mob violence has caused great fear among us Christians because we feel that no Christian is safe in Pakistan,” said Dominican Father James Channan, who runs a church-run peace center in Lahore, Pakistan.

“Any fanatic and member of a fundamentalist organization or terrorist group can simply accuse any Christian of blasphemy against the Prophet of Islam or desecration or burning of the Holy Quran, and this will lead to mob violence and burning of houses and churches, beatings and even lynchings of Christians,” Channan said.

Channan expressed skepticism that the perpetrators would face legal consequences for their actions.

“The great injustice that Christians face after such cruel attacks is that no one is punished,” he said. “All the accused are released after a few months or years. If justice had been done in the previous 8 to 10 cases of mob violence, then perhaps such incidents would not have happened.”

“It is a challenge for our government to review the controversial blasphemy laws in Pakistan, which are very often used to settle personal scores,” Channan said. “In the case of Christians, it is unfortunate that a male or female Christian is accused of blasphemy and then gangsters destroy properties and churches and even kill Christians.”

Channan called on international organizations to put pressure on the Pakistani government to do more to protect Christians, who make up just under two percent of the country’s 236 million population.

“Christians in Pakistan are peace-loving people and very loyal to their country. They contribute immensely to the stability of Pakistan, especially in the areas of healthcare, education and social development,” he said.

Shukardin said core On the same day, two other minor incidents of alleged blasphemy occurred in other regions of Pakistan, one of which involved a church being pelted with stones. The reports were “alarming”.