TOBA TEK SINGH: The Christian community leadership has vowed to pursue justice in the 2023 Jaranwala riots.

A press release said a meeting was held in Faisalabad on Friday to assess the situation in the aftermath of the tragedy following a blasphemy allegation against a Christian man resulted in torching of 26 churches and over 80 houses across 12 Christian settlements by enraged mobs, leaving the community devastated and in fear.

The meeting brought together prominent Christian leaders, legal experts and victims of the riots. Attendees included Bishop Andrias Rehmat, Senator Khalil Tahir Sandhu, Father Khalid Rashid Asi, Father Khalid Mukhtar, Lala Robin Daniel, Shakeel Bhatti, Emmanuel Uri, Pastor Biligram, Zaid Advocate, Shahid Anwar Advocate, Abrar Sahotra.

Senator Khalil Tahir Sandhu expressed deep concern over the failure of justice institutions to hold the perpetrators accountable. He pointed out that only 380 individuals out of 5,213 accused were arrested.

“Shockingly, most of those arrested had since been released on bail by the Anti-Terrorism Court(ATC) or had charges against them dropped by the police.”

He claimed that only three out of over 300 nominated suspects were currently facing trial in the ATC. “This selective prosecution severely undermines the credibility of the judicial process.”

The participants noted that law enforcement and justice institutions had failed to demonstrate seriousness and commitment to delivering justice.

They reaffirmed their resolve to take decisive and practical steps to pursue justice.Meanwhile, Syed Muneeb Gilani, apokesperson for CPO Sahibzada Bilal Umar, said police had arrested all accused whose names were given to police by complainants.

He said the arrested persons were produced before the ATC where their cases were heard. He said unidentified persons recognized through CCTV cameras were also arrested and “this process was still in progress.”

Published in Dawn, April 6th, 2025