Muslims in a town in Pakistan’s Punjab Province who seized a church
property have disrupted a prayer meeting at a private residence, sources
said.
After police arranged a reconciliation meeting between the Muslims and
members of the congregation in Sialkot District on Jan. 4, the Muslims
instead armed themselves with guns and machetes and attacked the
Christians’ family members in their homes, said Bashir Masih, a
Christian in Nawan Pind, Sadho Mahal, 150 kilometers (93 miles) from
Lahore.
Masih said area Muslims have “made it almost impossible” for church members to worship even in their homes.
“We obtained written approval from the district police chief, Rai Ijaz,
to hold a three-hour prayer meeting in the private courtyard of a
Christian, Javed Masih, on Jan. 3, which was a Sunday,” said Masih,
adding that the police chief had also assigned two policemen to provide
security at the venue.
When the congregation of about 30 Christians began worshipping, Rashid
Jutt, a Muslim in his late 20s, arrived to disrupt the meeting, Masih
said.
“The policemen assigned our security were late, therefore one of our
boys, Gulshan, stepped forward to stop Jutt from harassing the
congregation,” he said. “The two soon started fighting, but we
intervened and separated them. Jutt then left, vowing to ‘teach all of
us a lesson.’”
Masih said that later in the evening, Christian residents learned that
Jutt had filed a report with police accusing Gulshan and five others of
torturing him.
“We immediately reached the police station and told the inspector
in-charge what had really happened,” Masih said. “He said we could file a
counter application against Jutt for disrupting the prayer meeting, but
at the same time he advised us to let go of the matter and reconcile
with the Muslim youth.”
The police official offered to set up a meeting between both parties
the next day, Jan. 4, at a property of the municipal chairman, Chaudhry
Arshad.
Masih said that seven Christians went to the site at the scheduled time, but Jutt and his supporters did not show up.
“After waiting for some time, we returned to our homes,” he said.
“There we saw Jutt and some 30 other men armed with guns, machetes and
batons storming through our houses and beating up our boys. We
immediately telephoned the police emergency helpline, and a patrol
vehicle arrived there after some time. The police rescued our boys from
the attackers’ clutches, but they did not arrest any of the Muslims.”
Instead, police told the Christians to resolve the issue at a village council meeting (Panchayat).
Masih said that although none of the Christians were seriously injured,
the area’s 10 to 12 Christian families were shocked and fearful.
“We feel that the entire Muslim community has turned against us for
standing up against their aggression,” he said. “Even the local police
are on the Muslims’ side, as raids were being conducted to arrest
Christian boys while no effort is being made to arrest Jutt and his
accomplices, whom we have named in our police complaint for attacking
our homes and beating up our boys.”
Noting that this was not the first time area Christians have been
persecuted for their faith, he said young Muslim men gang-raped a
Christian girl about four months ago. The suspects escaped arrest by
forcing the victim’s impoverished family to withdraw the case, he said.
The church lost its worship venue two years ago area when the area
Muslims put a lock on the 25-year-old building, claiming that they had
bought the land on which it was built. Though they showed no ownership
documents, the Muslims prohibited the Christians from entering the
church building, Masih said.
“We are poor people, and most of us are employed as cattle herders or
at factories, so we are not in a position to fight a legal battle for
our church,” he said. “But now it seems that the Muslims just want us to
renounce our faith, as they have been forcibly stopping our prayer
gatherings.”
Though he has little faith in the local police, Masih said Christians
have met with the local police chief, Ijaz, about the attacks.
“Now a Punchayat headed by a deputy superintendent of police, Mian
Moazzam, will take up the matter on Sunday [Jan 17],” he said. “We will
demand our right to worship and to practice our faith freely in that
meeting. The Muslims cannot deprive us of our basic right to worship,
and they also cannot take away our church just like that.”
Sialkot District Police Officer Ijaz said that he has assigned officials to resolve the issue.
“We will not allow anyone to force their beliefs on any other person,”
he said. “The police will protect the Christians of Nawan Pind, and no
harm will come their way. They are free to practice their faith, and we
will ensure their security.”
Ijaz said that he would also investigate the Muslims’ appropriation of the church building.
“I will ask my officers to investigate the matter,” he said. “We will ensure that justice is served on merit.”
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