SW News:

The President of the Pakistani Bishops' Conference, Archbishop Joseph Arshad, gave a first-hand description of the anguish of those affected by the anti-Christian violence in an interview with Vatican News.

On Wednesday, a mob of Muslims attacked a Christian community in eastern Pakistan after accusing two of its members of desecrating the Quran. Several Christian churches were vandalized, and dozens of homes were set on fire. The attack happened at Jaranwala, a part of Faisalabad's industrial area. On August 16, a Muslim mob rampaged through the streets of Pakistan vandalizing more than 80 Christian homes and at least 20 churches.

To avoid similar incidents from happening again, Archbishop Arshad pleaded for peace among Pakistan's citizens and asked that those responsible for attacks against Christians and Christian churches be brought to justice.

"Each time these incidents happen, there is no example of a punishment given to these people, and that's why these things are happening again," he claimed.

He said it will take some time for the people to recover from this trauma. The church is trying to help and assist these people.

The bishops condemn the misuse of the law. He said the problem in Pakistan is that the people take the law into their hands.

Good education, he claimed, is essential. More awareness among the populace is required. It is important to encourage respect for one another's faiths. These actions can contribute to the improvement of society. Naturally, the government should implement severe punishment to hold those responsible accountable.

Otherwise, like in the past hordes of people will be attacked without adequate justice being served. This may have been prevented if some sort of precedent had been created in the past. Perhaps some time could be taken to arrive and handle the situation with the help of the police or the administration. Real justice is to be done to stop these kinds of incidents in the future.

When asked about the Christians in Pakistan, he said the Christians have always been a peaceful community. Shahbaz Bhatti served as a minister and was a steadfast advocate for human rights. And because he also urged that the government create a 5% quota for the minority in all departments, this is why people still remember him and still regard him as a hero. In Pakistan, Christians stand to gain from this quota. All of this was made possible through Shahbaz Bhatti's efforts.

Archbishop Arshad said however there are many episodes of discrimination. He said the culture, the mindset, is such that all people are being discriminated against, including the religious minority, which are easy targets of discrimination.