SW News: Catholic communities in Muslim-majority Pakistan will hold a special Day of Prayer on August 20 following the violence wreaked on Christian communities in the town of Jaranwala near Faisalabad. Archbishop Sebastian Shaw of Lahore said that all believers will “pray for peace, for interreligious harmony and to say No to all forms of hatred and violence”.

The prelate said, “We call on God, the giver of all good and we ask all people of goodwill, Christians and Muslims, to stand by us, united for a peaceful Pakistan, free from hatred, where the rights and freedoms of all citizens are respected.” Violent Muslim mobs went on a rampage destroying and desecrating churches following an alleged incident of blasphemy.

It was alleged that an illiterate Christian worker named Saleem Masih desecrated the Koran. When the news of the alleged desecration surfaced a local Islamic religious instigated Muslims to unleash violence on churches and homes of Christians in Jaranwala.

One Catholic church and three Protestant chapels were destroyed by furious Muslims, who also vandalized a cemetery and several homes of believers. Luckily no one was killed by the mob although three believers were injured. According to Fr Khalis Mukhtar of St Paul’s Catholic Church, a mob barged into the church early in the morning and began torching the building.

He said many Christian families fleeing violence were sheltered by moderate, peace-loving Muslims of the area who were appalled by the violent incidents. The local authorities deployed police and rangers in the area to restore law and order. They have also promised to carry out a fair inquiry and bring the culprits to the book.

President of the Pakistan Bishops’ Conference Archbishop Joseph Arshad of Islamabad-Rawalpindi expressed hope that peace and justice would be reestablished.

Of late, the attacks on Christians following alleged acts of blasphemy are on the rise in Pakistan with the government doing little to provide justice to the victims.