Christians in Pakistan ‘terrified’ of more violence

Christians in Pakistan live in fear of more violent attacks a 12 months after a wave of severe anti-Christian persecution.

Friday marked the one-year anniversary of violence against Christians in Jaranwala when 25 churches and at the least 85 were ransacked by a thousands-strong mob. 

Churches desired to mark the anniversary by holding services, but Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) says they were warned against doing so by the authorities. 

Father Yaqub Yousif, the parish priest of Jaranwala, said that Christians in the realm feel “scared”.

“People are disturbed by the shortage of justice,” he said.

“They feel very insecure. If the institutions answerable for providing justice cannot help what can the people do as weak minorities?”

Despite the dimensions of the devastation committed on 16 August 2023, Christians are upset that nobody has been held accountable and a few feel tempted to take matters into their very own hands. 

Bishop Indrias Rehmat of Faisalabad said: “People are frightened and feeling hopeless because thus far justice has not been given to them.

“Some persons are offended and wish to agitate.

“They demand that we act for justice but what can we do? Justice can only be given by the federal government. The culprits are mostly out on bail and that is upsetting the community.”

While 305 were arrested over the atrocities, the Catholic Church’s National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) says that only five remain behind bars.

Only one person was sentenced in reference to the violence and that was a Christian man, Ehsan Shan. He was sentenced to life for blasphemy after being found guilty of sharing a blasphemous image on social media that sparked the rampage. 

Father Yousif expressed scepticism about Shan’s conviction: “I would love to make it clear that Christians never have any considered showing disrespect either to the Quran or the prophet and would see absolutely no value in acts of desecration.”

Christians who initially tried to have charges pressed against perpetrators of the violence have been intimidated into dropping their claims, ACN reports. 

Father Boniface ‘Bonnie’ Mendes, a senior priest of Faisalabad diocese, shares the sense of grief in regards to the lack of justice a 12 months on. Visiting the UK offices of ACN recently, he said that Christians feel increasingly like they need to depart the country and that the Pakistani government has to share a few of the blame.

“Justice has not been served within the last 12 months. The right people must have been sentenced but this has not happened,” he said. 

“The government has been so weak. It is afraid to act. We feel an increasing number of that the federal government is helpless. It means the Christian community tends to be an increasing number of inward-looking and wish to depart the country.”

NCJP executive director Naeem Youssif Gill outlined some practical measures that could possibly be taken to guard Christians.

“Justice ought to be implemented with a spirit of justice, equality and based on the law,” he said. 

“Steps resembling stopping provocation through loudspeakers, banning extremist outfits and seizing the hate-mongering literature have to be intensified and evaluated, and their success have to be ensured.”