New Delhi

Then Blasphemy law came to haunt the newly appointed interim Prime Minister of Pakistan as the attacks on Christian churches and their homes in the Jaranwala tehsil of Faisalabad in Punjab province intensified on Wednesday leading to the deployment of the para-military force – Rangers (equivalent to our BSF).

A Christian leader, Akmal Bhatti, told the dawn newspaper that the mob had torched at least five churches and looted valuables from houses that had been abandoned by their owners after clerics made announcements in mosques inciting the mob.

Images on social media showed smoke rising from the church buildings and people setting fire to furniture that had been dragged from them. A Christian cemetery was also vandalised, as well as the local government office.

Dozens of people blocked a nearby highway as well.

Jaranwala pastor Imran Bhatti told Dawn.com that the ransacked churches included the Salvation Army Church, United Presbyterian Church, Allied Foundation Church and Shehroonwala Church situated in the Isa Nagri area.

He added that the mob also demolished the house of a Christian cleaner, accused of blasphemy.

Meanwhile, the police registered a first information report against the accused under sections 295B (defiling, etc., of the Holy Quran) and 295C (use of derogatory remarks, etc., in respect of the Holy Prophet) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

At night, the Punjab government said in a press release that directives had been issued for a “high-level inquiry” on the incident and arrests.

The provincial government attributed the incident to a “planned conspiracy under which an attempt was made to destroy peace in Pakistan”. It said that the “Holy Quran was desecrated and the sentiments of Muslims were hurt”.

Pakistan's interim Prime Minister Anwaar ul Haq Kakar took to X (formerly Twitter) to react to the explosive situation:

I am gutted by the visuals coming out of Jaranwala,#Faisalabad. Stern action would be taken against those who violate law and target minorities. All law enforcement has been asked to apprehend culprits and bring them to justice. Rest assured that the government of Pakistan stands… https://t.co/GHWUGA1NNq

— Anwaar ul Haq Kakar (@anwaar_kakar) August 16, 2023

The press release further said announcements were made from mosques that action was being taken against the alleged desecration of the Holy Quran, but the situation had aggravated by then.

It added that due to timely action by the police and administration, announcements were made in mosques that the authorities were taking action, but tensions had already escalated due to the alleged desecration.

It said the Faisalabad commissioner and other officials were present near the Jaranwala.

Section 144 was imposed in Faisalabad district for seven days due to the “prevailing overall security situation”, according to a notification from the deputy commissioner’s office.

The section of the Code of Criminal Procedure empowers the district administration to issue orders in the public interest that may place a ban on an activity for a specific period of time.

Christian leaders alleged that the police remained silent spectators.

The newly appointed interim Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar said stern action would be taken against those who violate the law and target minorities.

“All law enforcement has been asked to apprehend culprits and bring them to justice,” he said on X (formerly Twitter), adding that the government stood with “our citizenry on equal basis”.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter) earlier, President Bishop of the Church of Pakistan Azad Marshall said that Bibles had been desecrated and Christians were tortured and harassed “having been falsely accused of violating the Holy Quran”.

Nearly 100 killed over blasphemy allegations since 1947

Last week, a teacher affiliated with a language centre was shot dead by unknown armed men on an allegation of blasphemy in Turbat town of Kech district.

In a similar incident in February this year, a man was lynched over blasphemy allegations in Nankana Sahib after he was accused of “desecrating the Holy Quran”.

In January 2022, the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) in a report stated that as many as 89 citizens were killed in 1,415 accusations and cases of blasphemy in the country since independence. The report said that from 1947 to 2021, 18 women and 71 men were extra-judicially killed over blasphemy accusations. The allegations were made against 107 women and 1,308 men.

Out of the total, 1,287 citizens were accused of committing blasphemy from 2011- 21. “The actual number is believed to be higher because not all blasphemy cases get reported in the press,” the report had said, adding more than 70 percent of the accused were reported from Punjab.

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The report said misuse of blasphemy laws is often described by courts as an unlawful act. It had said the Islamabad High Court had previously suggested to the legislature to amend the existing laws to give equal punishment to those who level false blasphemy accusations.