Lahore: Pakistani authorities have arrested 135 people in connection with the unprecedented mob attack on 21 churches in Punjab province even as the government ordered a high-level probe into the riots and promised to “restore” all the damaged churches and homes of the minority Christian community.
An enraged mob ransacked and torched 21 churches and several houses of Christians last week over blasphemy allegations in Jaranwala town of Faisalabad district, 130 km from Punjab’s provincial capital Lahore. A Christian cemetery and the office of the local assistant commissioner were also vandalised. “A case has been registered against 600 suspects under terrorism and blasphemy charges,” Punjab caretaker information minister Amir Mir said. A Punjab police spokesman said members of the radical group Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan were among the 135 miscreants arrested for the attacks.
Mir said peace has been restored in the area and a heavy contingent of 3,000 police and rangers has been deployed outside churches and homes of the minority Christian community. He said police foiled many attempts aimed at damaging various buildings. “The chief minister has ordered a high-level investigation into the matter and those involved in this heinous crime will not escape justice,” he said.
Punjab’s caretaker CM Mohsin Naqvi promised to “restore” within three to four days all the churches and the homes of the minority Christian community torched by the mob. He said the mob attack was a “planned conspiracy” to “light a fire in the country and sabotage its peace”. He vowed to prevent any such “conspiracy” in the future. The district administration has imposed section 144 for seven days, prohibiting all kinds of assembly, except for events organised by the government in Jaranwala. All educational institutions, markets and business establishments remained closed in Jaranwala. The incident sparked outrage from political parties, civil society, the media, and outside Pakistan.
Two arrested for blasphemy
Meanwhile, police arrested two Christian brothers accused of blasphemy, a spokesperson said blaming the two men for desecrating the Quran. Pages of the Quran were found in a street with derogatory comments written on them in red, police said. One attached extra page also carried the names, addresses and national identity card numbers of the accused, provincial police chief Usman Anwar said.