Pakistani Christians mourn deaths

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LAHORE, Pakistan, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Relatives of Christians, killed in riots in Pakistan's Punjab province, stopped rail service for six hours by placing the coffins on the tracks, officials said. Violence erupted last week when a Muslim mob, irate over alleged desecration of the Koran, attacked a Christian neighborhood in the Gojra district in the Punjab. The Christians denied the allegations. Dawn newspaper reported the death toll of Christians from the violence had risen to seven. Three Muslims also died as a result of police gunfire during the incident. Relatives of the dead Christians said the victims were burned alive and the mob also attacked several Christian homes. Pakistani security forces patrolled the area where shops remained closed, Dawn said. The report said community leaders insisted they would end their protest only after the names of the two local police officials were also included in the official complaint. The blockade of the rail tracks was removed after the community was shown a copy of the official complaint where the two police officials had been cited for negligence, the report said. Funerals for the victims were later held in a local church, the report said. Among the about 60 arrested was a leader of the banned group Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan, the report said. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari ordered Minorities Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti to remain in Gojra until normalcy returns, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan news agency reported. The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency fact book says Christians and Hindus together account for 5 percent of Pakistan's predominantly Muslim population of about, 176 million. However, the Pakistan Christian Post quoted Pakistani Christian Congress president that Christians constitute 13 percent of the population. The group says the Christians have always been deliberately under counted.

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"Trial of Pakistani Christian Nation" By Nazir S Bhatti

On demand of our readers, I have decided to release E-Book version of "Trial of Pakistani Christian Nation" on website of PCP which can also be viewed on website of Pakistan Christian Congress www.pakistanchristiancongress.org . You can read chapter wise by clicking tab on left handside of PDF format of E-Book.

nazirbhattipcc@aol.com , pakistanchristianpost@yahoo.com