Christian protesters decry Muslim mob's arson spree following blasphemy charge
>From Nasir Habib , CNN
March 10, 2013 -- Updated 1026 GMT (1826 HKT)
CNN.com
An angry Pakistani demonstrator torches Christian's belongings in Lahore during
a protest over a blasphemy row.
An angry Pakistani demonstrator torches Christian's belongings in Lahore during
a protest over a blasphemy row.
Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- Outraged Pakistani Christians took to the streets
of Lahore on Sunday, protesting a rash of violence against their community over
the weekend.
Demonstrators denounced the burning of more than 100 homes of Christians on
Saturday -- a spree spurred by allegations that a Christian man made remarks
against the Muslim prophet Mohammed.
Some of the hundreds of protesters Sunday threw stones at police, saying the
government failed to adequately protect Christians, Lahore senior police
official Rai Tahir said.
Tahir said video footage of the fires helped lead to the arrests of more than
150 attackers. He said charges of terrorism have been filed against the
suspects.
The violence that tore through Lahore's Badami Bagh community Saturday followed
the arrest of Sawan Masih, a Christian in his 20s accused of blasphemy.
But Masih's arrest wasn't enough to appease an angry mob of Muslims irate over
the alleged crime.
"(The) mob wanted police to hand them over the alleged blasphemer," said Hafiz
Majid, a senior police official in Badami Bagh.
The mob also looted some shops run by Christians, he said.
Majid said Christians have fled the area for fear of being killed.
If convicted, Masih faces the death penalty.
He denies the allegations made by the two men who filed the blasphemy complaint
against him with police on Friday, Majid said.
Masih said the three got into an argument while drinking and that the other two
men threatened to publicly accuse him of blasphemy, according to Majid.
"The attack is yet another shameful incident against a vulnerable community and
further confirmation of the slide toward extremism in society on the one hand
and, on the other hand, the apathy and inaction that has become the norm among
the police," the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said in a statement.
The group accused police of arresting Christians in the incident "while those
who went on a rampage and can easily be identified from television footage have
gone scot-free."
Pakistan's blasphemy laws were first instituted to keep peace between
religions. But they have been criticized by human rights advocates who say the
laws enable legal discrimination against religious minorities. At time, the
laws have been misused to settle personal differences between Muslims and
Christians.
There have been about 1,400 blasphemy cases since the laws were first enacted
in 1986, according to U.S.-based Human Rights Watch. There are more than 15
cases of people on death row for blasphemy in Pakistan, and more than 50 people
have been killed while facing trial for the charge, according to the
organization.
Last year, a Pakistani court dismissed blasphemy charges against a Christian
teenager whose case prompted international outrage.
Her detention stirred up religious tensions in the predominantly Muslim
country. It also generated fierce criticism of Pakistani authorities and
renewed debate over Pakistan's blasphemy laws.
President Asif Ali Zardari issued a statement Saturday on the most recent
"unfortunate incident." He noted that the country's constitution protects the
rights of all Pakistanis, and that "such acts of vandalism against minorities
tarnish the image of the country."
© 2013 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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