On September 8, 2023, a three-member bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan will take up a case that involved arson and rampage in the Jaranwala incident, a prominent Pakistani news channel reported. The bench will be presided over by Justice Ijaz-ul-Hasan, Justice Muneeb Akhtar and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail.
The Incident
The Jaranwala Incident took place on August 16, 2023, wherein an angry crowd vandalised over 21 churches and set fire to more than a hundred houses and residences after the Islamic clerics incited the mob to attack the Christian community over allegations of blasphemy. A total of 10,000 Christians were forced to move immediately, and 20,000 were affected by the incident
After the attack, the Christian populations spent their nights in the fields as well as other desolate places as their houses were burnt to the ground and were attacked. Some families had shifted and moved to their relatives’ places.
This incident came to the forefront and gained worldwide attention when last week, the Overseas Pakistani Christian Alliance (OPCA) and the Global Human Rights Defence (GHRD) organised a protest and demonstration in the Hague (Netherlands) to voice their concerns over the attack on churches and Christians in Pakistan.
Primary Cause of Incident
Two Christian men living in Jaranwala had blasphemed against the Holy Quran and the Islamic prophet Muhammad Mustafa by using vulgar and insulting words against the two entities. As a result, different Islamic groups, local clerics, and fundamentalists supported and facilitated the attackers. The announcement by the cleric of a local mosque added fuel to the aggravating fire.
The HRFP Report
In this fact-finding report, the Human rights agency said that a total of 19 churches were fully gutted down, and two other churches and prayer halls were also affected. The organisation said that its report was based on direct information and evidence of the sites in which the carnage occurred, Interviews of local residents, church leaders, neighbourhoods, journalists, police officers, stakeholders and political workers were taken. The homes of the pastors and priests and a total of 400 hoses were completely destroyed.
The HRFP team also met with 150 victims and families along with church leaders who shared their stories about victimisation and religious persecutions, losses, and immediate needs to help them urgently and for a longer time, the report stated. Household items were burnt and looted. The people fled on time and managed to escape. Those who fled were grievously injured and sustained injuries, including women.
Government Action
Over 600 unidentified people were included in this investigation, out of which thirty-seven suspects were nominated. The Counter Terrorist Department in Pakistan arrested two suspects inciting violence a day after the incident occurred. Two cases have been charged under terrorism, along with blasphemy cases, including 13 provisions.
Last month, the Chief Justice of Pakistan Bandial constituted a three-member bench that was supposed to take up the case on August 22, 2023. However, it was noted that the Supreme Court deferred the hearing on the issue that the Human Rights Cell did not receive the police report on the incident.
Previous Incidents
In 2014, Kot Radha Kishan Kasur, a couple, was burnt alive. In 2013, Joseph Colony Lahore attacked burnt houses and churches. The 2010 attack on Warispura Faisalabad destroyed houses, churches and shops. In 2009, places like Gojra and Korian were attacked and destroyed, and houses and churches, including seven people, were burnt alive. In 2005, the Christians of Sangla Hill were attacked, leaving Christian families devastated. In 1997, Shantinagar village was attacked, houses and Churches were burnt to ashes, and now the Jaranwala Incident.
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