An elderly Christian man has died from injuries sustained in an attack by a mob led by an extremist group over a suspected blasphemy case in Pakistan’s Punjab province last week, police said on Monday.
On May 25, an angry mob led by activists of the radical Islamist Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) attacked members of the Christian community in Mujahid Colony in Punjab’s Sargodha district, about 200 kilometers from Lahore, injuring two Christians and 10 police officers.
The mobs burned and plundered Christian homes and property.
Police said the mob surrounded the home and shoe factory of an elderly Christian man, Nazir Masih (also known as Razar Masih), accusing him of desecrating the Quran. They attacked him with kicks, punches and hurled stones at him.
The enraged mob set fire to a shoe factory, several shops, and several houses.
The family denied the allegations of sacrilege but alleged that the mob had tried to lynch them.
“Masih was also brutally set on fire but a huge police force arrived in time and rescued him and 10 other Christians,” the FIR said.
According to the FIR, a portion of the Quran was found outside the shoe factory, inciting local residents.
“When police tried to pacify them with batons, the enraged mob pelted stones at the police. At least 10 police personnel, including a police constable, were injured,” the FIR said.
The police in total 140 suspects involved in attacks on Christiansits property, and police personnel. Police have arrested more than 450 people on terrorism and other charges.
According to police, Masi, who was undergoing treatment at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Sargodha, died on Sunday.
His nephew Irfan Gir Masih also confirmed the death and said his uncle’s body was being shifted to Sargodha for funeral services.
According to resident testimonies recorded by a team led by the Cecil and Iris Chaudhry Foundation (CICF), the blasphemy charges against Razaar Masih are “a result of the accumulating hatred between his family and the local Muslim community over a drainage issue.” In Pakistan, most blasphemy cases are registered primarily to settle scores between the complainant and the accused.
In Pakistan, minorities, including Christians and Hindus, frequently face blasphemy charges and some have been tried and convicted on blasphemy charges.
Last year, at least 24 churches and more than 80 Christian homes were burned down by mobs in the Jaranwala area of Faisalabad province, about 130 kilometres from the provincial capital, enraged by reports that two Christians had desecrated the Quran.
According to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics for 2021, the country is made up of 96.47 percent Muslims, 2.14 percent Hindus, 1.27 percent Christians, 0.09 percent Ahmadi Muslims and 0.02 percent others.
First uploaded: 06 March 2024 20:24 IST
