AMONG the many, far too many, attacks on minorities in Pakistan in recent years, the lynching of Shama and Shahzad in November 2014 stands out for its sheer scale of bestiality.

The Christian couple, brick kiln workers in Kot Radha Kishan, Punjab, were accused of having desecrated the Quran. A mob incited by local clerics, beat the couple to death and then burnt their bodies in the kiln where they worked.

On Thursday, an anti-terrorism court in Lahore indicted 106 suspects, after police presented a charge-sheet against them. Included among them are three clerics accused of having instigated the 400-strong mob. The court has also issued a summons for witnesses to record their statements.

Take a look: Christian couple lynching: ATC indicts 106 suspects

That there finally seems to be some progress in bringing the perpetrators of that horrific episode to account — despite some false starts — is a positive development.

One of the principal drivers of violence against minorities is the impunity with which attacks on them are carried out.

The example of the ransacking in March 2013 of Joseph Colony, a Christian-majority locality in Lahore, is a case in point. The trial of the Muslim suspects in that case is still wending its way through the courts; meanwhile, the Christian man accused of the blasphemous act that ‘provoked’ the riot has already been found guilty and sentenced to death.

The government must pursue the cause of justice in every instance of violence against minorities, not only the most egregious ones.

Another aspect of the predicament that minorities find themselves in is, of course, lack of security.

Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan on Thursday asked the provincial home departments to conduct an audit of existing security plans for minority communities — both among Muslims and others — and improve them in the light of the findings.

While practical steps are indeed important, to bring about a long-term change law-enforcement personnel must realise they have not only a professional obligation to protect minorities, but also a moral duty based upon the shared values of humanity.

Published in Dawn, May 25th, 2015

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