Punjab Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi said that Friday sermons in mosques across Punjab would focus on the rights of minorities.
Naqvi’s announcement comes two days after violence targeting the Christian community in Jaranwala tehsil of Faisalabad left over 20 churches and over a dozen homes in ruins.
As per police and local sources, the violence erupted after some locals alleged that several desecrated pages of the Holy Quran had been found near a house at Cinema Chowk in Jaranwala, where two Christian brothers resided.
A day earlier, Punjab police had arrested at least 140 alleged miscreants, including two prime suspects, and registered five cases
The first information reports (FIRs) registered with the Jaranwala City police included Section 295 (desecration of a worship place) and Section 295-A (hurting religious feelings) of the Pakistan Penal Code. Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act had also been inserted in the FIRs besides other sections related to attacking, burning and damaging properties of the Christian community.
Those arrested by the police included main suspect Muhammad Yasin, identified through a video in which he was seen making an announcement on loudspeakers of mosques to incite Muslims against the religious minority, urging the former to come out of their homes to take part in riots. He reportedly made announcements from five mosques.
Meanwhile, the Punjab government has vowed to restore all the churches and homes of the Christians destroyed by the mob within the next three to four days.
In a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) today, Naqvi said, “Today, Friday sermons across Punjab will focus on the rights of minorities, teachings from the Holy Quran and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).”
“Amid challenging times, let’s emphasise that such incidents should not be coloured by religion. Interfaith harmony is among the basic teachings of Islam,” the chief minister said.
“Grateful to religious scholars for their patience and support in unmasking those seeking to disrupt our nation’s peace,” Naqvi added.
Condemnations continue
The Jaranwala tragedy had continued to elicit condemnation on Thursday, with national leaders and international organisations calling for justice for the people whose homes and places of worship were ransacked and destroyed.
Speaking at an ISPR event, army chief Gen Asim Munir denounced the attacks on churches and vowed no leniency for “intolerance and extreme behaviour”.
“It’s imperative for the people to discern the difference between truth, half-truth, lies, misinformation and disinformation,” he said.
In a press conference in Lahore, Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC) Chairman Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi apologised for the Jaranwala violence and reaffirmed the commitment to protect “our Christian brothers”.
“We are ashamed,” he said. “We failed to fulfil our responsibility as an elder brother … we seek forgiveness,” he said.
Meanwhile, global rights watchdog Amnesty International had urged Pakistan to prevent the misuse of blasphemy laws.
“The blasphemy laws have long been misused and the Pakistani authorities need no more evidence to see how dangerous the blasphemy laws are,” Amnesty International said in a statement.
The rights group asked Islamabad to “urgently ensure the protection of the minority Christian community in Jaranwala and immediately address violence against religious minorities.”
