Christians’ True Spirit (CTS) got informed through reliable resources that a Muslim set fire to the Holy Bible, on May 24, Tuesday, in Chandiyan Talawan, in District Faisalabad, Punjab (some kilometers far from Chak 44 Mandi Bahauddine, a place where Christians already facing life threats and live in fear of attack by the Muslim extremists since they allegedly accused a Christian youth Imran Masih aged 24 for committing blasphemy). The incident exasperated the local Christians who staged a protest against the desecration of the Holy Bible. Seeing the situation getting worse, police contingents were deployed in the area in order to ward off violent clash between the Christians and Muslims. The local Christians claimed that the alleged perpetrator had profaned the Word of God by setting fire to it.
The incident aggravated the Christians who started chanting slogans against the perpetrator demanding due punishment to the guilty party over the blasphemous act.
Katherine Sapna Director Christians’ True Spirit – CTS strongly condemned the act and demanded the perpetrator be met with due punishment. As the situation for the religious minorities becoming deteriorating day by day and we suppose this another way to pressurize Christian villagers and threaten them by creating hostile situation in the village. We cannot ignore such issues which create hatred, maltreatment, religious extremism and intolerance in our society.
Since 9/11 and Cartoon published by a journalist in Denmark there has been sectarian conflict of varying intensity in Pakistan. This religious sectarianism is connected to a degree with nationalism. Religious minorities, Christians in particular are being overwhelmingly threatened by the Muslim extremists as the country sits pretty in the thick of bigotry. Pakistan is recently named amongst the worst violators of religious freedom.
CTS team investigating the matter and collecting facts behind this hostile situation at village Chandiyan Talawan, Faisalabad and will keep you informed accordingly.
Katherine Sapna
Director CTS