News
THEY NEED TO DIE: Muslims attacked and killed worshippers while the pastor was running for his life
As Pakistan reels from the brutal persecution of other minorities, a mob of angry Muslims attacked a Christian suburb in Lahore on Saturday, setting fire to more than 150 homes and two churches.
At least 4 people were killed and 28 others were injured after a bomb exploded in a mosque in Peshawar on Saturday, according to the police.
Following a claim that a Christian sanitation worker had insulted the Prophet Muhammad, thousands of Muslims in Lahore assaulted the Joseph Colony, a Christian neighborhood of roughly 200 dwellings.
In Pakistan, blasphemy has recently become a hair-trigger offense due to an alarming rise in mob violence.
According to the police, a disagreement on Wednesday night between two friends, Muslim barber Shahid Imran and sanitation worker Sawan Masih, led to the accusations of blasphemy in Lahore.
The Christian community was unnerved by Mr. Imran’s blasphemy accusation against Mr. Masih, 28, on Thursday. That nightfall, people started to leave their homes, while the police filed charges against Mr. Masih for Friday.
Several thousand individuals, primarily ethnic Pashtuns employed by adjacent enterprises, descended upon the settlement on Saturday morning. Police reported that some of them were carrying batons and firearms.
According to a police spokesman, Multan Khan, “They vandalized Christians’ homes, desecrated churches, and opened fire on the police. “As they attempted to step in, several police officers were injured.
Other people who hurried to the Joseph Colony, which is situated in an industrial region with factories and scrap yards, attempted to put out the fires.
According to Ahmad Raza, who was in charge of the rescue effort, by evening, there had been damage from fire to around 178 homes, 18 businesses, and two churches.
One of the houses that was destroyed belonged to Jani Masih, a different sanitation worker, and his three boys. “Even a single household has not been spared,” declared Mr. Masih, a name that is popular among Christians.
The destruction was of the growing intolerance in Pakistani society. As worshipers were concluding their afternoon prayers, the Peshawar blast took place in the retail district Meena Bazaar, according to deputy city commissioner Javed Marwat.
The main cleric of the mosque, a member of the Barelvi sect of Islam, which is practiced by the majority of Sunni Muslims in Pakistan, was among the deceased.
Follow us on social media: