For the Christians of Punjab, the new year began with three separate attacks. Two churches were vandalized on January 7, and a service was disrupted on January 3.
The first incident took place at a compound in the Sabomal Nawanpind village of Pasrur town in the Sialkot district on January 3, where Christians from a number of villages had gathered for a Christmas service. The small church in the area has allegedly been snatched after two Christian siblings – Saleem Masih and Rasheed Masih – were accused of blasphemy in 1999.
Christians say the service was disrupted by a citizen identified as Muhammad Rashid.
“We had acquired permission from the district police officer,” said Bashir Masih, the owner of the compound. He says Rashid was disrespectful towards their faith. “We took him outside, without fighting.”
But Rashid and his father Arshad Ali told the police that the Christians worshippers had beaten them up. The next day, the Christians also complained to the police about the disruption of their religious gathering. “All the participants were ready to testify,” said Bashir.
The number of Christians in the area decreased after the two brothers were arrested in a false blasphemy case in 1999. “There are only four Christian families left in the village, so we had invited Christians from other villages,” Bashir said.
The police officer on duty suggested the matter be taken to the newly elected chairman of the union council, Mr Afzal Gujjar.
“While we were there, 30 to 40 men, armed with clubs and axes, surrounded Christian houses,” Bashir told me. “They called them names and asked them to come out, but they locked themselves in and informed the police at the emergency number 15. The men did not disperse until the police arrived.”
Tensions have been high in the area for months, after two men – Tayyab Ali and Faisal Hussain – were arrested on charges of raping a Christian woman.
“They bear a grudge against us,” Bashir says. “The people who took possession of the local church have joined hands with others. They want us thrown out of the village and our properties confiscated.”
Police has not registered a case on the complaints from either side. Mian Qadir, who is in charge at the Saddar Police Station, denies the clash has a religious dimension. “There are three or four Christian youths who want to establish their supremacy in the village,” he says. “They beat up Arshad Ali, who is an old man.” The officer said the union council chairman was trying to get the two parties to reach a compromise.
In a separate incident, furniture at a church in Manga Mandi was set on fire on January 7. The Apostolic Church is in the Baath village where about 50 Christian families live. The police initially said the fire was caused by short circuiting, but evidence revealed later that it was arson.
“The neighbors told me at 1am that there was a fire on the roof of the church,” the catechist Dildar Masih told me. “The fire burned down furniture as well as a tent. Thankfully, it did not reach inside the building because the iron doors were closed.”
When police arrived at the scene, they said it might have been caused by short circuiting. “But there were no electric wires close by, and the electric cables at the church had not been burned,” Dildar said. “There were signs that the wall had been scaled. But we did not see anyone entering or leaving.”
The police sought time to investigate before deciding if a case needs to be registered.
In the third instance, which took place about 70 kilometers from the Apostolic Church only five hours later, a man burned Bibles and other Christian scriptures. The Victory Church is located in the Sandha Phatak village, near Ganda Singh Wala in Kasur – about 80 kilometers from Lahore and only about a kilometer away from the Indian border.
John Masih had opened the church at 5am on January 7 and was cleaning it for congregants. His wife Saddiqa arrived to worship about 90 minutes later, and saw a man burning the Bibles and books of hymns. She ran to John and told him about it. “My wife and I reached the site immediately and I locked the door from outside,” John told me. “We gathered other Christians, who informed the police.”
In the 30 minutes before the police arrived, the man first threatened them and then tried to bribe them. He also said he was influential and they could do nothing against him.
“The police questioned the man in our presence. He said his name was Muhammad Azhar and he was from Pasrur,” John said. He was sent to jail the same day.
Human rights activists Khalid Shahzad and Napoleon Qayyum, who arrived at the church a few hours after the incident, said the police were insisting the suspect was not sane and had lit up fire to save himself from cold.
“It is unbelievable that the man came 200 kilometers in a very foggy weather to warm himself, and he entered a church where he only burned religious books.” They said if the suspect was a Christian and the complainants Muslim, the police would not act that way. In fact, the entire Christian population of the area would have suffered.
Tariq Bashir Cheema, the stationhouse officer at the Ganda Singh Wala police station, said an FIR was registered immediately, and the police could add more charges if there was a need. “In our report, we do not say that the suspect is insane. There were people who suggested that the mental health of the suspect should be examined. We said that was up to the courts to decide.”
Intimidating tactics are often used to snatch land and property from Christians, and anti-Christian sentiments are exploited for this purpose.
A PEW Research Center report counts Pakistan among top ten countries where religious hostilities are “very high” and the government has also placed restrictions on religious minorities. Another report by the same organization notes that only 16 percent of Muslims have “a positive opinion about Christians.”
The first incident took place at a compound in the Sabomal Nawanpind village of Pasrur town in the Sialkot district on January 3, where Christians from a number of villages had gathered for a Christmas service. The small church in the area has allegedly been snatched after two Christian siblings – Saleem Masih and Rasheed Masih – were accused of blasphemy in 1999.
Christians say the service was disrupted by a citizen identified as Muhammad Rashid.
“We had acquired permission from the district police officer,” said Bashir Masih, the owner of the compound. He says Rashid was disrespectful towards their faith. “We took him outside, without fighting.”
But Rashid and his father Arshad Ali told the police that the Christians worshippers had beaten them up. The next day, the Christians also complained to the police about the disruption of their religious gathering. “All the participants were ready to testify,” said Bashir.
The number of Christians in the area decreased after the two brothers were arrested in a false blasphemy case in 1999. “There are only four Christian families left in the village, so we had invited Christians from other villages,” Bashir said.
The police officer on duty suggested the matter be taken to the newly elected chairman of the union council, Mr Afzal Gujjar.
"It is unbelievable that the man came 200 kilometers to warm himself in a church, where he only burned religious books"
“While we were there, 30 to 40 men, armed with clubs and axes, surrounded Christian houses,” Bashir told me. “They called them names and asked them to come out, but they locked themselves in and informed the police at the emergency number 15. The men did not disperse until the police arrived.”
Tensions have been high in the area for months, after two men – Tayyab Ali and Faisal Hussain – were arrested on charges of raping a Christian woman.
“They bear a grudge against us,” Bashir says. “The people who took possession of the local church have joined hands with others. They want us thrown out of the village and our properties confiscated.”
Police has not registered a case on the complaints from either side. Mian Qadir, who is in charge at the Saddar Police Station, denies the clash has a religious dimension. “There are three or four Christian youths who want to establish their supremacy in the village,” he says. “They beat up Arshad Ali, who is an old man.” The officer said the union council chairman was trying to get the two parties to reach a compromise.
In a separate incident, furniture at a church in Manga Mandi was set on fire on January 7. The Apostolic Church is in the Baath village where about 50 Christian families live. The police initially said the fire was caused by short circuiting, but evidence revealed later that it was arson.
“The neighbors told me at 1am that there was a fire on the roof of the church,” the catechist Dildar Masih told me. “The fire burned down furniture as well as a tent. Thankfully, it did not reach inside the building because the iron doors were closed.”
When police arrived at the scene, they said it might have been caused by short circuiting. “But there were no electric wires close by, and the electric cables at the church had not been burned,” Dildar said. “There were signs that the wall had been scaled. But we did not see anyone entering or leaving.”
The police sought time to investigate before deciding if a case needs to be registered.
In the third instance, which took place about 70 kilometers from the Apostolic Church only five hours later, a man burned Bibles and other Christian scriptures. The Victory Church is located in the Sandha Phatak village, near Ganda Singh Wala in Kasur – about 80 kilometers from Lahore and only about a kilometer away from the Indian border.
John Masih had opened the church at 5am on January 7 and was cleaning it for congregants. His wife Saddiqa arrived to worship about 90 minutes later, and saw a man burning the Bibles and books of hymns. She ran to John and told him about it. “My wife and I reached the site immediately and I locked the door from outside,” John told me. “We gathered other Christians, who informed the police.”
In the 30 minutes before the police arrived, the man first threatened them and then tried to bribe them. He also said he was influential and they could do nothing against him.
“The police questioned the man in our presence. He said his name was Muhammad Azhar and he was from Pasrur,” John said. He was sent to jail the same day.
Human rights activists Khalid Shahzad and Napoleon Qayyum, who arrived at the church a few hours after the incident, said the police were insisting the suspect was not sane and had lit up fire to save himself from cold.
“It is unbelievable that the man came 200 kilometers in a very foggy weather to warm himself, and he entered a church where he only burned religious books.” They said if the suspect was a Christian and the complainants Muslim, the police would not act that way. In fact, the entire Christian population of the area would have suffered.
Tariq Bashir Cheema, the stationhouse officer at the Ganda Singh Wala police station, said an FIR was registered immediately, and the police could add more charges if there was a need. “In our report, we do not say that the suspect is insane. There were people who suggested that the mental health of the suspect should be examined. We said that was up to the courts to decide.”
Intimidating tactics are often used to snatch land and property from Christians, and anti-Christian sentiments are exploited for this purpose.
A PEW Research Center report counts Pakistan among top ten countries where religious hostilities are “very high” and the government has also placed restrictions on religious minorities. Another report by the same organization notes that only 16 percent of Muslims have “a positive opinion about Christians.”