ISLAMABAD: A plea filed in the Supreme Court on Wednesday called out the government for its apathy towards the Aug 16, 2023 Jaranwala violence victims and sought court’s intervention to set the record straight and redress the grievance.

The fresh application in this regard has been filed by Chairman Implementation of Minority Rights Forum Samuel Makson Payara before the Supreme Court on Wednesday with a request to fix the matter for hearing as early as possible.

The last time a similar plea was raised before the apex court by Mr Maksan was on Dec 8, 2023, requesting early fixation of the tragic incident, in which 20 churches and a number of homes belonging to the Christian community were damaged.

In the fresh application, the applicant stated that soon after the incident, both the chief minister of Punjab and the prime minister had visited the site. They had pledged compensation of two million to each victim of the family and assured the restoration of churches within three days.

Plea raises concerns over abrupt halt of reconstruction activities at churches, lack of govt response

Regrettably, discrepancies persist in the government’s acknowledgment of the extent of damage. Despite providing accurate figures, like 146 houses, the government erroneously cited 80. Only 76 out of 80 were compensated, leaving four families still awaiting redress, the application said.

Repeated efforts to correct this information have been met with indifference, the application regretted, adding that the matter of grave concern was the abrupt halt of reconstruction activities at various churches, with a noticeable lack of responsiveness from the government authorities.

This cessation has left affected churches incomplete and vulnerable, demanding immediate attention and action, the application said.

Moreover, the arrest of 283 individuals in connection with the incident raises concerns about the investigative process but shockingly about 223 accused have been granted bail, and 14 discharged, underscoring potential flaws in the police investigation and highlighting the urgency for a thorough review.

Despite proper identification by our complainants, no recovery of tools used for the destruction of the churches has been made.

Additionally, the existence of videos collected from different sources has not resulted in action against the perpetrators, further underscoring the need for a robust and just response.

Besides, the victims have filed 25 FIRs regarding the theft of their belongings. Yet the police’s lacklustre response and absence of investigations or a joint investigation team (JIT) have left the affected in a state of despair.

The application has also mentioned the Sept 8, 2023 hearing of the case, in which the Supreme Court ordered to re-list the case after two weeks. However, the present case has not been fixed for hearing so far.

Hence, keeping in view the agony of the affectees and the sensitivity of the matter, the present case needs to be fixed at an early date.

At the last hearing, the Supreme Court also ordered the Advocate General Punjab to file a report about absence of security plan, which the provincial government had to develop to ensure Christian community as well as safeguarding churches and residence. The special plan had envisaged quick response unit to check untoward incident against the Christian community.

Published in Dawn, February 8th, 2024