Christians attacked in Pakistan’s Sargodha for ‘blasphemy’ | World News

At least 10 Christians were rescued on Saturday in eastern Pakistan after a Muslim mob attacked a minority Christian neighborhood in a blasphemy case, police and community leaders said.

Sargodha district police chief Shariq Kamal said the crowd accused Christian groups of blasphemy and hurled stones and bricks at police.

At least one house and a small shoe factory were set ablaze by protesters who gathered after local residents alleged that the Quran, Islam’s holy book, had been desecrated by members of the minority community, according to police spokesman and Christian leader Akmal Bhatti.

“They burned down a house” and several Christians were severely beaten, Bhatti said.

Kamal said a large police force had sealed off the area and pushed back the crowd, adding that one of the Christians was taken to hospital in stable condition.

Police official Asad Malhi said around 25 protesters were arrested, adding that 11 police officers were injured during operations to rescue Christians from the crowds.

Police said the situation had calmed down by late evening and leaders from both sides called for peace.

Christian rights group Minority Rights March said a 70-year-old man accused of blasphemy was beaten and dragged around by the mob.

He said video footage shows police did not intervene. Police have denied the allegations.

Videos posted on social media showed protesters looting items from burning buildings and throwing piles of items onto the streets, setting them on fire.

Batty said the video was footage from the scene.

Reuters was not able to independently verify the photo.

Pakistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission said the Christian community was “at grave risk to their lives at the hands of the attacking mob.”

Blasphemy is a sensitive issue in conservative Muslim-majority Pakistan, where even an accusation can lead to street lynching.

Rights groups say Pakistan’s strict blasphemy laws are often misused to settle personal scores.

Blasphemy is punishable by death in Pakistan, but no one has been executed by the state, although many defendants have been lynched by angry mobs.

Last year, a group of Islamists attacked a Christian community in eastern Pakistan, destroying churches and setting dozens of houses on fire after two of their members accused them of desecrating the Quran.