ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has promised to bring to justice perpetrators of last week’s mob attacks on Christian homes and churches in the eastern city of Jaranwala, after two Christian brothers were accused of desecrating the Qur’an.
The sites that were attacked on Wednesday included the historic Salvation Army Church and Saint Paul Catholic Church, three smaller churches and scores of houses. Paramilitary troops have since been guarding the sites.
A Christian graveyard was also desecrated, residents and community leaders said, adding the mob armed with iron rods, sticks and bricks went on the rampage without any intervention by police and administration. Police have denied this, saying they prevented a worse situation.
Islamabad condemned the “reprehensible incident” in Jaranwala and said it had hurt the sentiments of Christians across Pakistan.
“Such intolerant and violent acts are unacceptable to the ethos of Pakistani society,” Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, a spokesperson for the Pakistani foreign office, said in a statement late Sunday.
“The wheels of justice have been set in motion. The Government of Pakistan will not rest until those responsible for these vile acts are apprehended and brought to justice.”
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC) and the Church of Pakistan on Sunday established a 24-member committee to foster interfaith harmony and quell extremist narratives after last week’s violence.
In a media conference co-chaired by PUC Chairman Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi and Church of Pakistan President Bishop Azad Marshal, the two announced the names of the committee members that included bishops and pastors from the Christian community and Muslim religious leaders in Pakistan.
“The Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC) and Church of Pakistan on Sunday jointly established a 24-member committee in a concerted effort to address the tragic incident in Jaranwala, foster interfaith and interdenominational unity, and quell extremist narratives,” read a report by the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP).
Ashrafi said the committee comprises both Muslim and Christian religious leaders in order to bridge the gap between people of the two faiths.
“We must strive to cultivate tolerance, respect, and patience in our society and reject any attempts to exploit religion for personal or political gains,” he said.
Ashrafi said the PUC had pledged to provide assistance to the young victims of the Jaranwala incident, promising to organize arrangements for the affected girls’ dowries.
Police have already apprehended over a hundred suspects who were allegedly at the forefront of one of the most severe instances of anti-Christian violence in the country’s history.
On Sunday, the Punjab provincial government said a compensation of Rs2 million ($6,751.05) had been approved for each of the affected families.
