Islamabad, Aug 19 Several Christian leaders staged a sit-in protest in Pakistan's Faislabad district over the government's failure to provide justice for the victims of the August 16, 2023, riots in Jaranwala city, which erupted over allegations of blasphemy, local media reported.
Addressing the protesters, Minority Rights Movement Chief Lala Robin Daniel, along with Shakil Bhatti, Ibrar Younis Sahutra, Pastor Faraz Siddiq, Samson Salamat, Shafiq Goshi, Yassu Bhatti, and others, said that even after two years of the riots, none of the accused have been sentenced by the Faisalabad anti-terrorism court.
The demonstrators claimed that during the riots, 27 churches and 23 houses were set ablaze by the mob; however, police investigations declared all the nominated accused persons innocent.
The leaders urged the Christian community and civil society people worldwide to stage sit-ins demanding justice for the victims, leading Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported.
Earlier this month, a report by Brussels-based European Conservative mentioned that Pakistan continues to persecute minorities through its controversial blasphemy laws, particularly targeting the Christian community.
The pattern of religious intolerance and violence against minorities, it said, stems from Pakistan's adoption of an Islamic Constitution in 1973 and provisions of Sharia law in its Civil Code, as, under the Pakistani Constitution, the right to free speech is limited to uphold "the glory of Islam".
Highlighting the violence against the Christian minority in Jaranwala, the European Conservative report detailed that an individual, Pervaiz Masih, was accused of writing blasphemous content, which later triggered violent riots in the region in August 2023.
Subsequently, this year on April 18, he was handed the death penalty along with other severe punishments.
"The Jaranwala incident that destroyed at least 20 churches and forcibly displaced hundreds of Christians in August 2023 is just one illustration of violence resulting from the blasphemy laws," the report noted.
Several human rights bodies of Pakistan have also time and again raised serious concerns amid an escalating wave of violence against the religious minorities in Pakistan.
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