Pakistan: Church Burnings – Achbishop Joseph Arshad Reacts
everal Christian churches were vandalized and scores of houses set on fire on Wednesday by a mob of Muslims who attacked a Christian community in eastern Pakistan, after accusing two of its members of desecrating the Quran. The attack took place in Jaranwala in the industrial district of Faisalabad.
More than 80 Christian homes and at least 20 churches in Pakistan were vandalised when a Muslim mob rampaged through the streets over alleged blasphemy on 16 August.
Rights groups maintain that Christians continue to face discrimination in the country, evidenced by several accusations waged against them without any evidence, using the blasphemy law to accuse minorities arbitrarily.
A recent report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which drew attention to deteriorating religious freedom in numerous countries globally, expressed concern for the continued enforcement of blasphemy provisions punishing individuals for allegedly offending, insulting, or denigrating religious doctrines, and efforts to enact stricter blasphemy legislation in several countries.
Source: Vatican News
