• Army chief vows ‘no leniency’, FO spox decries violence
• Amnesty urges Pakistan to prevent misuse of blasphemy laws
• NCHR reports 17 churches torched

ISLAMABAD/KARACHI: The Jaranwala tragedy continued to elicit condemnation on Thursday, with national leaders and international organisations calling for justice for the people whose homes and places of worship were ransacked and destroyed by a frenzied mob.

Speaking at an ISPR event, army chief Gen Asim Munir denounced the attacks on churches and vowed no leniency for “intolerance and extreme behaviour”.

“It’s imperative for the people to discern the difference between truth, half-truth, lies, misinformation and disinformation,” he said.

Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch also rebuked the incident, labelling the actions ‘illegal’ and ‘unconstitutional’.

“Individuals belonging to religious minorities are equal citizens of the state. As a multicultural and multi-faith country, Pakistan is fully determined to protect and promote their constitutionally guaranteed rights and freedoms and to foster social harmony, tolerance and mutual respect,” she said.

Describing it as a “dismal failure of the state”, the Women’s Action Forum (WAF) strongly censured the mob violence.

“WAF calls for an urgent and fair inquiry into the incident to ascertain the facts that led to the violence and those responsible for it. WAF demands immediate identification, arrest and punishment of all perpetrators and instigators,” said a statement issued by the forum.

Calls for accountability

The National Commission on Human Rights (NCHR) declared that a total of 17 churches were gutted in the unfortunate Jaranwala incident.

A team led by NCHR Chairperson Rabia Javeri visited Jaranwala on Thursday and found that 12 registered and unregistered churches and around 80 houses were damaged by mob violence, with 30 to 40 homes fully burnt.

“Faisalabad is a hotbed for religious violence. Many incidents of allegations of blasphemy and desecrations on churches have already been reported from this area. The region is a tinderbox and the government must look to address interfaith harmony and cultivate tolerance.” the NCHR chairperson said.

Additionally, the United Council of Churches (UCOC) has urged the government to hold a fair and transparent inquiry into the incident and bring the culprits to justice.

“We believe that this incident is a bigger tragedy than the events of May 9 and the attack on the GHQ. We also request our Pakistan Army to take strict action against the culprits of Jaranwala tragedy,” UCOC Executive Director Pastor Samson Sohail said.

International concern

Also on Thursday, global rights watchdog Amnesty International urged Pakistan to prevent the misuse of blasphemy laws.

“The blasphemy laws have long been misused and the Pakistani authorities need no more evidence to see how dangerous the blasphemy laws are,” Amnesty International said in a statement.

The rights group asked Islamabad to “urgently ensure the protection of the minority Christian community in Jaranwala and immediately address violence against religious minorities.”

Jamal Shahid, Malik Asad and Kalbe Ali in Islamabad, Anwar Iqbal in Washington and Aleezeh Fatimah in Karachi also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, August 18th, 2023