religion
Pakistan: Police to protect religious minorities
A paramilitary and police convoy patrols a street in Jaranwala. photo
© KM Chaudary/AP/dpa
Two Christians are said to have degraded the Holy Scriptures of Islam. Since then, an angry mob has been roaming the city of Jaranwala. The police react.
A police unit to protect religious minorities has been set up in Pakistan following the attack on a Christian quarter. In the future, 70 officers from the special unit are to protect the communities of religious minorities in the capital Islamabad, as the newspaper “Dawn” said on Thursday, citing the police reported. It was initially unclear whether similar units would also be formed in other parts of the country.
Violent attacks on members of religious minorities had increased in recent weeks. Angry crowds attacked several churches in Punjab province on Wednesday. Dozens of suspects were later arrested, police said. In the affected town of Jaranwala, the authorities stationed paramilitary units and imposed a curfew.
Are the allegations fabricated?
The background to the attack were allegations of blasphemy. The mob reportedly accused at least two Christians of degrading the Koran, Islam’s holy scripture. Leaders of the Islamist party Tehreek-e Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) then goaded their supporters and rampaged in a Christian neighborhood of the city. The police assumed on Thursday that the allegations were fabricated and that it was more about a dispute between a shopkeeper and two young Christians.
The TLP is an Islamist movement founded by radical preachers in 2015. The populist group is known for its ability to mobilize crowds. Leaders of the TLP repeatedly called for violence. At times, the party was banned in the South Asian country.
Cases of deadly violence in the wake of allegations of blasphemy have been reported in Pakistan time and time again. Blasphemy is an extremely sensitive issue in the predominantly Muslim country. In extreme cases, the laws provide for death for insulting Islam or the Prophet Mohammed. Those accused of this are often targeted by extremists even before they are convicted.