| Daily Times - Site Edition | Friday, July 03, 2009 |
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‘Christian community targeted by cleric’
* Locals claim ‘mischievous’ cleric instigated youth to attack Christians in Kasur
* 12-member peace committee to present report within four days
By Ali Usman
LAHORE: Some influential people, in connivance with a cleric, persuaded people from Bahmniwala village in Kasur to attack the Christian community on charge of making blasphemous statements following a quarrel between a Muslim and a Christian boy, locals alleged on Thursday.
A member of the provincial assembly, Ahmed Ali Dhillon, told Daily Times a “mischievous” cleric, Qari Latif, had instigated young men to attack Christians for alleged blasphemy. Locals agreed, saying Latif had previously instigated the youth against a Muslim teacher, Sabir, two years ago. They said the people who had attacked the Christian community were Chaudhrys of the village and had felt great insult when their initial foray resulted in retreat. They said the mob had then consulted Latif, and decided the Christians had committed blasphemy. Latif then used the local mosque’s loudspeaker to urge Muslims to “teach a lesson to the Christians”.
Four days: Following Tuesday night’s attack and a boycott of all Christian businesses by the Muslim community on Wednesday, the situation in the area remained tense. The district coordination officer, the district police officer, the Lahore commissioner, the Human Rights and Minority Affairs minister and the Religious Affairs minister visited the area, and formed a 12-member peace committee to resolve the issue. On Thursday, some local Christians were also included in the committee. The committee has been directed to present a report on the situation to the Kasur DCO within four days.
A visit to the homes attacked by the mob revealed broken electricity meters and burnt roofs. Raj Bibi, an 80-year-old Christian woman, said the community had done nothing wrong, and were victims of grave injustice. “We never did any harm to them (Muslims),” she said in a choked voice.
Shaan Ali, who led the mob with his brother Imran, refused to back down. “The Christians had committed blasphemy,” he told Daily Times. However, when asked, he could not point out who had specifically been responsible for the alleged blasphemous statements.
Also on Thursday, a fact-finding team led by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, visited the area. The team would present a detailed report of its findings within a few days.