LAHORE, March 10: Scores of minority rights’ organisations and political and religious parties condemned and protested on Sunday the Badami Bagh incident that left over 170 Christian families homeless as mobsters burnt their houses on Saturday.

AWP: The Awami Workers Party’s Naeem Shakir visited Joseph Colony and expressed solidarity with those direct victims of the violence. The party staged a protest for three hour outside the Lahore Press Club joined by Christian demonstrators in hundreds. Carrying placards and banners, protesters condemned attack by religious extremists over an alleged blasphemy by 26-years-old Sawan Masih of Joseph Colony.

They urged the government revisiting the blasphemy law.

NCJP: National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) leaders condemned the blasphemy case against Sawan Masih and the burning of 178 houses of Christians. Father Emmanuel Yousaf Mani, the NCJP director, and Peter Jacob in a statement said the police and the administration were mainly responsible for the violence. The political leadership also failed to gather courage to address the sufferings of religious minorities. They held the provincial government responsible for current moment of shame because it ignored the plight of minorities in the wake of growing religious intolerance fueled by extremist groups.

They said had the governments taken steps to introduce legal safeguards and administrative reforms, the tragic incident could have been averted.

PML-Q: Pakistan Muslim League-Q leader and Deputy Prime Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi condemned the setting ablaze of entire locality of Christian community in Lahore and said the incident occurred due to incapability of the chief minister.

Mr Elahi said had the chief minister taken timely notice and action, the incident could have been averted. He said instead of suspending the DSP and the SHO, the CM should have take action against himself. He assured Christians of his party’s support in the moments of sorrow and grief.

The PML (Q) Minorities Wing held the PML-N responsible for the incident, saying that this was the fifth happening of its sort during its regime in the province.

The incident was condemned at a meeting held at Bihar Colony, Kot Lakhpat, which was presided over by the wing’s Senior Vice-president Sardar Anjum Bhatti.

Mr Bhatti said earlier entire Christian colonies were torched in Gojra, Bamniwala, Shantinagar, Kasur and Sialkot during the PML-N government.

JI: Jamaat-i-Islami Secretary General Liaqat Baloch visited the Christian locality in Badami Bagh to express solidarity with the affected people and assured them his support. The Bishop of Lahore and J Salik were also present. Mr Baloch visited the burnt houses and camps set up for the affected families and also met the women and the children.

He said according to Islamic teachings the torching of a Christian Church or any other place of worship, or any revealed book was an unpardonable crime like the blasphemy of the Holy Quran and a mosque.

He said it was the responsibility of the Punjab government to provide protection to the residents of the Joseph colony but it had failed to do primarily because the intelligence agencies and law enforcement institutions were busy in the security of the rulers alone.

The Pakistan Awami Tehreek, Pakistan Minorities Alliance, Amaan Welfare Foundation and others also condemned.

SCHOLARS: Scholars from different religions on Sunday called for religious harmony in the country and condemned Saturday’s mob attack on the Christian neighbourhood.

At a condolence reference for Maulana Abdul Hayee Abid at Jamia Masjid Madni in Lahore Cantonment, Peace and Harmony Network Pakistan Chairman Pir Allama Muhammad Zubair Abid paid rich tribute to his late father and said that in line with the teachings of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) the late Maulana Hayee took care of the rights of Muslims as well as non-Muslims. He condemned the mob attack on Christians and called it a disservice to the religion as well as the humanity.

Javaid William said he would condemn the person who did blasphemy a million times, but there was no justification to punish 180 Christian families for an individual’s act.