Church ransacked in Pakistan, suspect arrested
A church has been attacked by a group of Muslim men who ransacked it and desecrated the Bible in Punjab province of Pakistan, police said on Tuesday. The Feroz Din Memorial Church in Kot Radha Kishan, Kasur district, some 50 kms from Lahore, came under attack in early hours of Monday by a group of unidentified men. Police, however, claim to have arrested a prime suspect, Allah Rakha, and booked him under blasphemy and other charges.
According to the FIR, some unidentified men entered the church in early hours of Monday and ransacked it and also desecrated the Bible. The church incharge Tariq Masih informed the police at 4 am on Monday, when he went to open it and found lock of the main gate broken and the church was ransacked and the Bible was torn apart, it said.
Police arrested main suspect identified as Allah Rakha who also confessed to his crime. Rakha had a quarrel with some members of Christian community in the village over some issue, police officer Mohammad Essa said.
“To vent his anger, he entered the church and ransacked it. Some Christian religious symbols and church property were damaged and the holy book of Christians was also desecrated,” the police officer said. Allah Rakha and others have been booked under section 295 (offences related to religion) and 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religious feelings and beliefs) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
Pakistan Christian Awareness Movement Chairman Dr Emanuel Adil Ghauri expressed deep concern over the incident of vandalism and desecration of the holy Bible in the Feroz Din Memorial Church.
He demanded that the matter should not be limited to the case itself, the Punjab government should use modern technological tools to enable the immediate arrest of unknown suspects and strictly deal with those who are playing with the peace of the country. Punjab Law Minister Rana Iqbal Khan said the arrest of the prime suspect involved in the desecration of the church is commendable.
“The accused will be awarded the strictest punishment in accordance with the law. Places of worship of minorities are fully secure, and the government is strictly implementing a zero-tolerance policy,” the minister said and added such incidents in the past have caused serious damage to the country. (PTI)
