ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s army chief General Syed Asim Munir on Thursday condemned the ransacking and burning of churches and Christian homes in eastern Pakistan over the alleged desecration of Qur’an, describing it as “extremely tragic and totally intolerable”.
An angry mob burned and ransacked several churches and houses belonging to the Christian community in Jaranwala town of Pakistan’s industrial city of Faisalabad on Wednesday, after news spread that two Christian men living there had desecrated the holy Qur’an.
Eyewitnesses say the incident forced families to flee from their houses and seek shelter elsewhere. On Thursday, paramilitary troops were deployed in the town to aid the police, which said it had filed cases against more than 600 people and arrested over a hundred for their involvement in the violence.
“[The] Jaranwala incident is extremely tragic and totally intolerable,” Munir said, according to a statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). The army chief was speaking at the ISPR’s yearly internship program.
“There is no space for such incidents of intolerance and extreme behavior by any segment of society against anyone, particularly against minorities,” he added.
The army chief stressed that all citizens of Pakistan were equal irrespective of their religion, gender, caste, or creed, adding that no one would be allowed to take the law into their hands.
“Those culpable of committing such crimes will be brought before the court of justice,” he vowed.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s foreign office also condemned the incident, terming the vandalization of minority places of worship “illegal and unconstitutional.”
“As a country of law and constitution, Pakistan cannot accept such intolerant and violent acts,” foreign office spokesperson, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, said during a weekly press briefing.
“As a multicultural and multifaith country, Pakistan is fully determined to protect and promote its constitutionally guaranteed rights and freedoms and to foster social harmony, tolerance, and mutual respect.”
Meanwhile, the Islamabad Police announced on Thursday they had established a “protection unit” to ensure the safety of minority places of worship and communities.
Under the new unit, district police officers (DPOs) would be responsible for the protection of minority places of worship and communities in their areas and would strengthen liaison with minority committees at the divisional level, the police said.
