LAHORE: Police broke up a mob of people armed with sticks that was threatening to attack a church on Saturday after word spread that two copies of the holy Quran had been burned in eastern Pakistan, officials said. The crowds marching towards the church in the city of Gujranwala blamed Christians for desecration of the holy Quran. Police charged the crowd of 300 people marching towards the church, lightly injuring several protesters, said Saeed Wahla, the top administrator in the city. The protesters blocked a street with barricades of burning tyres. A burned copy of the holy Quran was found on Saturday, and two weeks earlier several burned pages from the holy book turned up, said Nabil Awan, another local official. The All-Pakistan Minorities Alliance condemned Saturday’s march and demanded the government hold an inquiry to find out who was responsible for organising it. The group said such
incidents are “just a conspiracy to destabilise the country”.
