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
Pakistan denies reports army ordered ‘depopulation’ in Tirah Valley ahead of anti-militant operation
Pakistan denies reports army ordered ‘depopulation’ in Tirah Valley ahead of anti-militant operation
- Tirah Valley residents started fleeing homes this month ahead of a planned military operation against militants
- Reports aimed at creating alarm among public, disinformation against security institutions, says information ministry
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s information ministry on Sunday denied reports the army has ordered depopulation in the northwestern Tirah Valley ahead of a planned anti-militant offensive, stating that any movement of residents from the area is voluntary.
The denial from the government comes as residents of Tirah Valley in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province bordering Afghanistan flee their homes ahead of a planned military operation by the army against militants, particularly the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group.
Despite major military operations in the mid-2010s, Tirah Valley has remained a stronghold for insurgents, prompting authorities to plan what they describe as a targeted clearance.
“The government has taken notice of misleading claims in circulation regarding alleged ‘depopulation’ from Tirah Valley on the orders of the Army,” the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MoIB) said in a statement on Sunday.
“These assertions are baseless, malicious, and driven by ulterior motives aimed at creating alarm among the public, disinformation against security institutions and furthering vested political interest.”
The ministry said Pakistan’s federal government and the armed forces had not issued directives for any such depopulation of the territory. It clarified that law enforcement agencies are “routinely conducting targeted, intelligence-based operations strictly against terrorist elements” with care to avoid disruption to peaceful civilian life.
It said locals are increasingly concerned over presence of the “khawarij,” a term the military and government frequently use for the TTP, in Tirah Valley and desire peace and stability in the area.
The information ministry mentioned that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Relief, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Department issued a notification on Dec. 26 last year for the release of funds, reportedly Rs4 billion [$14.24 million], for the “anticipated temporary and voluntary movement of population from certain localities of Tirah.”
It also said that the notification mentioned that the deputy commissioner of Khyber District, where Tirah Valley is located, said the voluntary movement of people reflects the views of the local population articulated through a jirga at the district level.
“Hence any stated position of the Provincial Government or their officials being conveyed to media that the said migration has anything to do with the Armed Forces is false and fabricated,” the information ministry said.
“Given with malafide intent to gain political capital and unfortunately malign security institutions and therefore highly regrettable.”
The evacuation has exposed tensions between the provincial government, run by former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, and the military establishment over the use of force in the region.
“We have neither allowed the operation nor will we ever allow the operation,” KP Law Minister Aftab Alam Afridi said earlier this month, arguing that past military campaigns had failed to deliver lasting stability.
Pakistan military spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shareef Chaudhry has previously defended security operations as necessary as militant attacks surge in the country.
In a recent briefing, Chaudhry said security forces carried out 75,175 intelligence-based operations nationwide last year, including more than 14,000 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, attributing the surge in violence to what he described as a “politically conducive environment” for militants.
