Lahore church burnt in suspicious circumstances

Image

London: January 11, 2016. (PCP) New Apostolic church in Batth village, 80 km away from Lahore on the Multan road was burnt after a New Year celebration on Wednesday 6th January. The incident has created great suspicion and fear amongst the local Christian community who believe it was a religious attack. The local Pastor Yaqoob Saraoya described how he had shut the church at around 12:00am and received a call only an hour later that the building was ablaze. He arrived back at the church within minutes and with local Christian villagers was able to put out the fire within an hour, with no assistance from the local fire service. Believing it was an act of arson in response to the exuberance of their worship and celebrations, Pastor Yaqoob called the local Manga Police Station. The Station Head Officer (SHO) Afzal Sindu arrived with other officers within a few minutes and undertook a very short investigation. The Police suggested the fire was initiated by a short circuit rather than an arson attack and refused to lodge a First Incident Report for a crime, stating it must have been an accident. However, Kasur a nearby town was the location of the attack of Shama and Shahzad who were burnt alive by a mob of in excess of 3000 in November 2014 (click here), moreover a church had already been subjected to an arson attack in the nearby Victory Church of Kasur on the day of Epiphany on 6th January (click here). Dildar Bhatti a local resident living next to the church building said: "I showed police officials suspicious marks on the wall of the church that illustrated someone had climbed the church wall to gain entry to our church, but the Police officers just ignored my evidence and did not add the detail to their reports. Local police officials do not cooperate with villagers." Karamat Masih, a local resident said: "All the local Christians are now in great fear, the fire illustrates that Christians are not wanted in the local area." Pastor Yaqoob is concerned about the loss of tents and other utensils that were hired for the celebration. The church has also lost much of their furniture and upholstery, including two sofas, chairs and carpets that was burnt. He has estimated that the church will face a bill of up to 100,000 rupees the equivalent of £654.67. Shamim Masih our lead reporter said: "When I went there local residents had heaped the burnt items in a pile and many parishioners were praying there. They have re-painted the outside wall of the church, coming together as a community to restore their place of worship. There are more than 1000 Christians living in the village and in this particular colony there are more than fifty families. Most of the Christians are bonded labourers and earn their living through modern day slavery in different sectors including local brick kilns and carpet making factories. This recent attack has placed great fear into all the local Christians" Wilson Chowdhry, Chairman of the BPCA, said: "Despite promises of reform and change the situation for Christians living in Pakistan only worsens. Inculcation of hatred towards minorities in national Curriculum text books that demonise and caricature people outside of Islam, have only served to polarise society creating great schism. There are protections for minorities in both the constitution and legal frameworks yet these are often obviated by officials seeped in the same hatred. Failure by the west to improve this situation for minorities through accountable use of foreign aid budget, has only exacerbated the situation. This has culminated in the quality of life for Christians in Pakistan reaching a nadir."

You May Also Like

Image

British Asian Christian Association Presents Report on Pakistan Persecution to UK Special Envoy at Foreign Office Ceremony

London: (By Hannah Chowdhry) Approximately 40 esteemed guests, including prominent figures from various NGOs dedicated to promoting international r

Image

Women leadership to lead struggle for Peaceful Pakistan; a pledge at Rwadari Iftar Get-together

Lahore: Led by the women leadership of Rwadari Tehreek Pakistan, the Annual Interfaith Iftar (breaking of the fast) on 20th March 2024 at the premi

Image

Sweeping Away Injustice: Asif Masih’s Bold Stand Against Brutality, Injustice, and Bigotry for Sweepers’ Rights

Pakistan: (By Hannah Chowdhry and Juliet Chowdhry) A Christian sweeper, duly elected as Chairman of the All Sweepers Union, faced brutal assaults b



"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