ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said Monday it will compensate people whose property was vandalized during protests over the acquittal of a Christian woman on blasphemy charges.
An Interior Ministry spokesman told Arab News around 1,200 people had been arrested and that more than 135 cases had been registered involving damage to public and private property.
“We have been receiving data from provincial governments as well as citizens directly to arrest culprits who damaged public and private property during the protests,” said Yasir Shakeel.
“Definitely the government will compensate all those whose moveable and immovable properties are damaged during the protests,” he said. “A mechanism will be developed for it after receipt of all complaints and facts from relevant government departments.”
There were no details — such as a timeframe — for the mechanism mentioned by the spokesman.
The ministry has set up a hotline and promoted a WhatsApp number that people can use to share photos and videos of those involved in vandalising public and private property during the protests.
It says the identity of those sharing information will be kept secret. It has released pictures of people involved in destroying property and injuring others during the demonstrations.
“We will release more pictures of those involved in rioting and destroying public property in the coming days,” a ministry statement read.
The protests followed the acquittal of Aasia Bibi on controversial blasphemy charges. Blasphemy is an incendiary charge in Muslim-majority Pakistan, where even unproven allegations of insulting Islam can lead to attacks and even murder by religious extremists.
The days of violence ended after the government signed a widely criticized five-point deal with the far right Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) party, whose supporters took to the streets to protest against the ruling.
Islamabad was accused of capitulating to the TLP by a human rights activist, Farzana Bari.
“The government should have registered cases under treason and incitement for hatred and violence against the TLP leadership and arrested them,” she told Arab News, “all else is just any eyewash.”
Bari said the government had set a precedent by yielding to the demands of “violent protesters” that would haunt the state.
Political analyst Professor Tahir Malik urged the country’s political leadership to amend the blasphemy laws to include a strict punishment for false accusers.
“We have seen that blasphemy laws are often misused to settle personal scores,” he told Arab News. “This must come to an end if we really want to be a true democratic, prosperous and peaceful country.”
Vandalism victims to be compensated
Vandalism victims to be compensated
- Around 1,200 arrested and 135 cases of vandalism registered
- Rights activists brand the government’s action “eyewash“
Death toll in Pakistan shopping plaza fire rises to 67, officials say
- Rescue teams still searching for damaged Gul Plaza in Karachi where blaze erupted on Saturday, says police surgeon
- Karachi has a long history of deadly fires, often linked to poor safety standards, weak regulatory enforcement
KARACHI: The death toll from a devastating fire at a shopping plaza in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi jumped to 67 on Thursday after police and a hospital official confirmed that the remains of dozens more people had been found.
Police surgeon Dr. Summaiya Syed said rescue teams were still searching the severely damaged Gul Plaza in the Karachi, where the blaze erupted on Saturday.
Most remains were discovered in fragments, making identification extremely difficult, but the deaths of 67 people have been confirmed, she said. Asad Raza, a senior police official in Karachi, also confirmed the death toll. Authorities previously had confirmed 34 deaths.
Family members of the missing have stayed near the destroyed plaza and hospital, even after providing their DNA for testing. Some have tried to enter the building forcibly, criticizing the rescue efforts as too slow.
“They are not conducting the search properly,” said Khair-un-Nisa, pointing toward the rescuers. She stood outside the building in tears, explaining that a relative who had left to go shopping has been missing since the blaze.
Another woman, Saadia Saeed, said her brother has been trapped inside the building since Saturday night, and she does not know what has happened to him.
“I am ready to go inside the plaza to look for him, but police are not allowing me,” she said.
There was no immediate comment from authorities about accusations they have been too slow.
Many relatives of the missing claim more lives could have been saved if the government had acted more swiftly. Authorities have deployed police around the plaza to prevent relatives from entering the unstable structure, while rescuers continue their careful search.
Investigators say the blaze erupted at a time when most shop owners were either closing for the day or had already left. Since then, the Sindh provincial government has said around 70 people were missing after the flames spread rapidly, fueled by goods such as cosmetics, clothing, and plastic items.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, though police have indicated that a short circuit may have triggered the blaze.
Karachi has a long history of deadly fires, often linked to poor safety standards, weak regulatory enforcement, and illegal construction.
In November 2023, a shopping mall fire killed 10 people and injured 22. One of Pakistan’s deadliest industrial disasters occurred in 2012, when a garment factory fire killed at least 260 people.
