Punjab caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Thursday vowed to restore within three to four days all the churches and Christians’ homes that were ransacked and torched during the Jaranwala violence a day earlier.
On Wednesday, a violent mob of hundreds had ransacked and torched five churches while also attacking the residences of members of the Christian community.
A Christian cemetery and the office of the local assistant commissioner were also vandalised. The incident had led the Punjab government to call in Rangers while 3,000 police personnel from various police units, including the Elite Force, had been deployed as well.
As per police, the violence erupted after some locals alleged that several desecrated pages of the Holy Quran had been found near a house at Cinema Chowk in Jaranwala, where two Christian brothers resided.
In light of the situation, the district administration has imposed Section 144 for seven days, prohibiting all kinds of assembly, except for events organised by the government.
Meanwhile, the Punjab government ordered the formation of a high-level inquiry committee to investigate the incident, in line with directives issued by Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq.
Separately, in a statement issued late on Wednesday night, Punjab police said it had made over 100 arrests while the Jaranwala police booked over 600 people in two terror cases.
Addressing a meeting today, which was attended by religious leaders of the Christian community, Naqvi condemned yesterday’s violence and asserted that such incidents were anti-Islam and against the teachings of the Holy Prophet.
He claimed the mob-led attack was a “planned conspiracy” to “light a fire in the country and sabotage its peace”.
“For the future, we should sit with our minorities and chalk out a plan to prevent such incidents,” he stressed, urging religious leaders to spread the message of the Holy Quran among the people.
Talking about damages to churches and Christians’ homes, Naqvi promised that the Punjab government would restore all the buildings to their original state within the next three to four days.
The caretaker CM added that all Pakistanis were one and promised to prevent any such “conspiracy” in the future. “There is no space for this in our country.”
Naqvi also appreciated the provincial chief secretary and police chief for effectively controlling the situation in Jaranwala yesterday and preventing any loss of life.
