KARACHI: Police in Pakistan’s eastern city of Sargodha said on Monday that they had registered criminal cases against over 100 people for their involvement in last week’s mob attack against a Christian man and his family over allegations he had desecrated the Qur’an.
A frenzied mob went on a rampage on Saturday in Sargodha after locals said they saw burnt pages of the Qur’an outside the house of a Christian man. Angry protesters set his house on fire and his shoemaking factory, beating up his son as well.
Police said they rescued the Christian father and men after successfully dispersing the crowd following violent clashes. Sargodha Police District Police Officer Assad Malhi said several police officers were injured in the clashes. He said Sargodha Police’s prompt and effective actions “saved the city from a potential disaster, maintaining peace and harmony in the region.”
“Later during the day, criminal cases have been registered against the culprits and police has arrested more than 100 accused charging them with anti-terrorist and attempt to murder sections of law,” Malhi said.
Police said they were also probing the incident and focusing on determining the extent of the damage done as well as identifying those responsible.
“Sargodha police are working tirelessly to ensure that all aspects of the case are thoroughly examined and that justice is served,” Malhi said.
He said police were engaging with the local community to address the root cause of the issue.
“The police are working closely with local community leaders and religious scholars to promote interfaith harmony and understanding,” Malhi said.
In a separate post on social media platform X, police said on Monday morning that security had been beefed outside all important churches in Sargodha district following the incident.
“Sargodha police have completed arrangements for the hyper security of churches across the district,” Sargodha Police wrote on social media platform X. It added that over 1,000 police officers and youths were performing duties at important churches in the district.
Blasphemy accusations are common in Pakistan and under the country’s blasphemy laws, anyone found guilty of insulting Islam or Islamic religious figures can be sentenced to death. While no one has been executed on such charges, often just an accusation can cause riots and incite mobs to violence, lynching and killings.
The latest violence, however, brought back memories of one of the worst attacks on Christians in Pakistan in August 2023, when thousands of people set churches and homes of Christians on fire in Jaranwala, a district in Punjab province, also on allegations of desecration of the Qur’an.
Pakistan police book over 100 suspects for Sargodha mob attack on Christian family
https://arab.news/nnxhb
Pakistan police book over 100 suspects for Sargodha mob attack on Christian family
- Suspects charged under anti-terror, attempt to murder sections of the law, say police
- A mob attacked Christian man, his son on Saturday over allegations he desecrated Qur’an
Pakistani migrant’s death in UAE shatters economic future of families back home
- Pakistani driver killed by falling debris during missile interception in Abu Dhabi amid escalating Middle East conflict
- Death leaves more than a dozen dependents in Pakistan without income after eight years of overseas work
ISLAMABAD: For days, Nazar Ali told his daughter-in-law a gentle lie: authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had confiscated all mobile phones and her husband, Mureeb Zaman, would call home as soon as he got it back.
In reality, Zaman, a 40-year-old Pakistani driver who had spent eight years working in the UAE to lift his family out of poverty, had already been killed by missile fragments during an aerial interception over Abu Dhabi amid an escalating conflict in the Middle East.
The conflict began on Feb. 28 after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran following weeks of escalating tensions between Tehran and its regional adversaries. The attacks triggered retaliatory drone and missile strikes by Iran targeting commercial and US-linked interests across the Gulf region, prompting air defense systems in several countries to intercept projectiles in the skies above major cities.
As interceptors met incoming missiles over the Emirati capital that night, falling debris struck Zaman, ending years of work he hoped would secure a better future for his five children in one of Pakistan’s most volatile regions.
“I found out the same day because nowadays it is the age of the Internet,” Ali, Zaman’s father, told Arab News during a condolence gathering at his residence last week.
“I myself was in the market at that time when I received the news [of his death], but I did not tell the family.”
Zaman had been supporting three households in his hometown in Pakistan’s northwestern Bannu district, including the family of his late younger brother. The region, located in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa near the Afghan border, has witnessed a surge in militancy and counterinsurgency operations in recent years.
The 40-year-old was one of millions of Pakistani migrant workers in Gulf countries whose remittances are a vital source of foreign exchange for Pakistan’s fragile economy.
He is also among the first reported Pakistani casualties of the recent escalation. Two Pakistani nationals have been killed so far in aerial interceptions in the UAE, while another Pakistani died last week in a similar incident in Iranian waters off Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, according to authorities.
Zaman’s life abroad was measured in long-distance phone calls and carefully saved earnings, while his wife, four daughters and one son lived in a single room at their family home in Bannu.
“He used to say that ‘When I come on Eid, God willing, I will build a room for you’,” Ali, his grieving father, said.
For Zaman, working in the UAE represented an escape from the insecurity and economic hardship that have long plagued his hometown, where militant attacks targeting security forces and civilians have periodically disrupted daily life.
Family members said he had hoped to return home for the upcoming Eid Al-Fitr holiday, encouraged by military operations against militant groups in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that had raised hopes of greater stability in the region.
Adnan Gul, Zaman’s nephew, remembered his uncle as a warm and optimistic man who often spoke about building a better future for his family.
“His wish was to have a good home, a settled family, and a good, peaceful life,” Gul said.
Recalling Zaman as a cheerful man who loved food and rarely lost his temper, Gul added: “With younger people he behaved like one of them, and with elders he behaved like an elder.”
“He had many wishes, but unfortunately all those wishes remained unfulfilled.”
Now, Zaman’s death has left his extended family facing an uncertain future.
Relatives fear the loss of his income could disrupt the education of his children, who attend school while also memorizing the Holy Qur’an.
“He used to say these things and tell me ‘Not to tire yourself too much because you have already done a lot of hard work’,” Ali, his father, said, his voice trailing off.
“But such a day came that Allah Almighty once again left us [helpless], and we don’t know what will happen next.”
Buried in his hometown, Zaman is remembered through the photographs he shared with family members on WhatsApp and the Eid gifts he had already purchased before his death.
“When a person leaves this world, only memories remain,” Gul said.
