The Pakistan Interfaith League (PIL) has expressed its concern over the security of Christians in Pakistan, especially those living in Lahore’s Youhanabad area and has urged the Punjab chief minister, Shahbaz Sharif to ensure deployment of paramilitary Rangers in the Christian colony to restore confidence of the residents which had been badly shaken by the suicide attacks on two churches in the vicinity.
In a statement, PIL Chairman Sajid Ishaq said that while PIL strongly condemns the gruesome killing of two persons and subsequent violence in which public property was damaged in Lahore on March 15 and 16, the organisation has reason to believe that the entire Christian population is now facing a serious threat of revenge attacks in wake of hate speeches being made in various areas of Lahore and Kasur districts, calling for attacks on Christians.
He said that on March 16, local Muslims, some reportedly armed, staged a protest rally in Dulam, a village near Youhanabad, where about 25 Christian households are located. Imminent violence against Christians was prevented by timely intervention of the Rangers and police officials, he added. He said that PIL has also been informed that a Christian man named Riaz Masih was battered with the butt of a gun by angry Muslim protesters in Kasur on March 16.
“Occurrence of such incidents has raised the specter of violence. Several religious parties are reportedly planning to organise protests against the lynching incident and it is feared that more violence may occur, especially after the Friday sermons,” he said.
Ishaq said that many Christians have been forced to evacuate their homes in Youhanabad and move to safer places in wake of hate announcements being made by the Muslim community. “This mass exodus from the area over security fears has caused immense concern in the minority community across Pakistan,” he said, urging the Punjab government to keep Rangers deployed at Youhanabad until the time the local Christians feel secure enough to return to their homes and also to consider setting up a permanent Rangers checkpost in the area as the local residents have lost faith in the Punjab Police.
“It also needs to be ensured that there is no travesty of justice during the manhunt for the perpetrators of the lynching incident. Those involved in the two killings must be brought to book and sternly dealt with according to the law, but no innocent must suffer for a crime he has not committed,” he said.
“At the same time, the heroism displayed by the Christian security volunteers must not be forgotten and their service to humanity by laying down their lives to save others must be duly acknowledged by the government,” he concluded.