Police intervene after mob attacks Christians – DW – 25.05.2024

Hundreds of people in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province have attacked a Christian community over allegations of blasphemy, officials said.

The mob attack took place in the Mujahid Colony area of ​​Sargodha city.

What else do we know about the attacks?

The mob claimed that a Christian had desecrated Islam’s holy book, the Koran.

According to police, the man’s small shoe factory was burned down during the riots.

According to Reuters, officers rescued at least five people from the violence, Sargodha police chief Sariq Khan said. He said all five were taken to hospital.

Khan said rioters threw stones and bricks at police.

District police chief Ijaz Malhi told the Associated Press news agency that the situation was under control, adding that police were investigating the blasphemy allegations.

He said officials had dispersed the crowd and were now asking religious scholars for help in defusing tensions.

Violence against Pakistan’s Christians

Islam is Pakistan’s official religion and is practiced by over 96% of the South Asian country’s population. Christians are Pakistan’s second largest minority group, making up about 1.3% of the population.

Under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, anyone who insults Islam can be sentenced to death.

Although no one has ever been executed for blasphemy, the accusations have led to riots and mob violence.

In August last year, mobs burned down churches and attacked dozens in the Jaranwala region of Punjab province after Muslim residents claimed they saw Christians tearing pages from the Koran.

In 2009, six Christians were killed and dozens of houses burned down in the Gojra district of central Punjab.

sdi/wd (AP, Reuters, dpa)