Blasphemy law used to terrorise minorities in Pakistan

SIALKOT: Simmering with avenge and anguish, the residents of Jaithikey-Sambrial, aided by the police, did not let an alleged blasphemer be buried with peace in his native town on Wednesday and the heirs took the body to a cemetery on Mudassar Shaheed Road in Sialkot for memorial services and burial. Also, the police have registered a case under Section 319 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) against the jail superintendent and other officials for their negligence in duty.
Robert, alias Fanish Masih, arrested on Saturday by the Sambrial police for allegedly desecrating the Holy Quran was found dead inside his jail cell on Tuesday.

Police officials claimed that the Christians were not allowed to bury Fanish in his native village in a bid to avert any eventuality or communal violence in the troubled village Jaithikey-Sambrial. The memorial service of Fanish was held at the ground of CT Christian High School in Sialkot, attended by hundreds of the Christians, including members of the National Assembly Dr Nelson Azeem and Akram Gill and Punjab Minister for Human Rights Kamran Michael.
Earlier, mourners staged a sit-in on Kashmir Road by placing the body in the middle of the road and chanted anti-government slogans. Protesters also ransacked some nearby shops. The police resorted to baton charge besides using tear gas to disperse the procession, and 11 people, including Sohan Lal, Bashir Masih, Javaid Allah Ditta, Samuel Masih, Emanuel Masih and Pitras Masih, were injured in the skirmishes.
The mourners demanded registration of a murder case against the officials of the Sialkot District Jail for allegedly torturing Fanish to death. The police said nine Christians were arrested for creating the law and order situation.
The police were well prepared to face any untoward situation and a police contingent was called in from the entire Gujranwala division to be deployed in Jaithikey and Sialkot city.
Following strong protests by the Christians, Civil Lines police registered a case under Section 319 of the PPC against the jail superintendent and other officials for their negligence in their duty.
Earlier, on Tuesday night hundreds of Christians blocked traffic on main Kashmir Road, Paris Road, Kutchery Road, Abbott Road and Mudassar Shaheed Road. They ransacked 13 shops along the roads and forced the shopkeepers to close their businesses.
They also hurled stones on public transport vehicles and broke wind screens and windowpanes of several motors.
TENSION: The village is still under the grip of tension. The Christians, who had fled their houses after the alleged desecration of the Holy Quran by some Christians on Sept 11 and ensuing communal violence, could not return to the village.
The police had arrested Fanish for the desecration on Saturday and the court sent him to jail on a 14-day judicial remand on Monday. On Tuesday, Jail Superintendent Ishtiaq Lodhi claimed that Fanish, being kept in solitary confinement, had committed ‘suicide’ in his cell.
But his relatives and members of the Christian community refused to accept the jail authorities’ claims and alleged that he was tortured to death.
Punjab Minister for Human Rights Kamran Michael, Father Emanuel Yousaf Mani, special director of Aman Organisation, MPA Khalil Tahir Sindhu and Riasat Masih, father of Fanish, addressed a press conference at Sialkot DCO office and condemned the violence in Sialkot.
Mr Mani urged the government to review the blasphemy law. He said 947 people, all non-Muslims, had been killed since the promulgation of the Blasphemy Law.

PAKISTAN Muslim mob burns Church after blasphemy allegations

JAYTIKE, Pakistan -- Hundreds of Muslims set ablaze a Protestant church Sept. 11 in this town of Punjab province after a Christian youth was accused of tearing the Qur’an.

A church burnt by a mob of angry Muslims, who attacked Christians for a new - alleged - case of blasphemy. This is what happened yesterday afternoon in a village in Punjab, Pakistan, where the Christian community was targeted by Islamic extremists.
"The extremists were protesting against the desecration of the Quran by a young Christian from the village" Father Emmanuel Yousaf Mani, director of the Catholic Churches National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) refers to AsiaNews, "that is why they set fire to the church". The priest, who heard the eye witness accounts of the inhabitants, adds that "the place of worship is used by Catholics and Protestants".
NCJP sources report that yesterday, at about 12:30 local time, a Muslim mob gathered round the village church in Jaithikey, not far from the city of Samberial in the district of Sialkot (Punjab). They first damaged the building, then set it on fire. The extremists also looted two houses adjoining the church.
According to preliminary reports, the real cause of tension is a relationship between a twenty year old Christian, whose name is Fanish, and a Muslim girl. The young man was accused of having "provoked" the girl and "throwing away the Koran [the girl] had in her hands".
"Muslims can not tolerate a Muslim girl falling in love with a Christian," says father Mani, confirming the news of the young man’s arrest this morning by police officers. "The authorities - adds the priest – will not allow access to journalists, to verify the events firsthand".

A statement released by NCJP explains that "The tense situation precipitated following the end of Friday prayers," when a call to action "to give a lesson to the Christians" was launched from the mosque. Following the announcement, at least 35 families left the village for security reasons; others decided to remain in their homes anyway.
The police reached the village, while the crowd of Muslims gathered, wiping themselves up into a frenzy over the - alleged - case of desecration of the Koran. In the evening, the extremists were driven from the homes of Christian villagers, but hundreds remained in the area, under police surveillance.

Father Emmanuel Yousaf Mani, NCJP national director, Kamran Michael, the Provincial Minister for Human Rights and Minorities and Nelson Azeem, a member of the National Assembly (the parliament of Pakistan) arrived in Samerial and, in close contact with local government and police, are following the evolution of events.
After the attack on Gojra in early August, in which seven people were killed, there is a real risk of a new massacre against the Christian community in the name of the blasphemy law.

INCIDENT OF GOJRA

incedent of gojra - CDU Pakistan

Pakistani Christians protesting over Gojra killings

Pakistan Blasphemy Law