In yet another crime against minorities in Pakistan, armed mobs have attacked at least two churches in Punjab province’s Jaranwala town accusing two Christian residents of blasphemy. According to media reports, the homes of Christians have also been vandalized in the surrounding area of the church.

The attacks in Jaranwala, in the district of Faisalabad, erupted after some Muslims living in the area claimed that a local Christian, Raja Amir, and his friend had torn out pages from a Quran, thrown them on the ground and written insulting remarks on others.

“Photos and video clips of burnt pages of the Qur’an were shared among the locals, which created an uproar,” Rana Imran Jamil, a spokesperson for the city’s 1122 rescue service, told media. He said four churches had been set on fire and there were no reports of injuries.

Hundreds of people armed with sticks and rocks stormed a predominantly Christian area in Faisalabad on Wednesday. Images on social media showed smoke rising from church buildings and people setting fire to furniture.

Videos and messages from locals suggested that loudspeakers of mosques were used to convey the alleged desecration of religious scriptures by two local Christian residents.

“Christians have desecrated the Holy Qur’an. All the clerics, all the Muslims should unite and gather in front of the mosque. Better to die if you don’t care about Islam,” one cleric is heard saying in a video.

The Salvation Army Church, United Presbyterian Church, Allied Foundation Church, and Shehroonwala Church situated in the Isa Nagri area were ransacked, Imran Bhatti, the pastor of Jaranwala, was quoted as saying by Dawn.com.

Though a heavy contingent of police reached the area and assured the swelling mob that the suspects would be apprehended and would face action as per the law, the crowds proceeded to attack the colony. The government of Pakistan's Punjab province called in Pakistani Rangers to control the violent situation.

“There is a standoff between the police and the crowds. The crowds are not backing down. Police and Rangers have been deployed to control the situation,” Ahad Noor, a district government official, referring to a paramilitary force.

Pakistani bishop Azad Marshall, in the neighboring city of Lahore, said the Christian community was "deeply pained and distressed".

"We cry out for justice and action from law enforcement and those who dispense justice and the safety of all citizens to intervene immediately and assure us that our lives are valuable in our own homeland," he posted on the social media platform X.

In a letter to the additional secretary (internal security) of Pakistan's Punjab, the Faisalabad commissioner has flagged the "vulnerable" law-and-order situation in Jeranwala and requested the deployment of two companies of the Pakistan Rangers. 

"Despite the Police's best efforts, the law & order situation standstills too sensitive and vulnerable. Thus, you are, requested to deploy two companies of Rangers/sufficient armed force urgently to check the turmoil in Law & Order situation at Tehsil Jaranwala District Faisalabad (sic)," the letter states. 

Minorities including Christians and Hindus in Pakistan have frequently been subjected to blasphemy allegations and some were tried and even sentenced under the tough blasphemy law. In June, a court in Pakistan's Bahawalpur sentenced a 22-year-old Christian man, Noman Masih, to death for having blasphemous images on his phone. The verdict was condemned by human rights organizations. 

Earlier this month, a teacher was killed in Turbat in the southern province of Balochistan after being accused of blasphemy during a lecture. In February this year, an angry mob snatched a suspect from his prison cell in the rural district of Nankana and lynched him for allegedly desecrating pages of the Quran.

Image source: Wion