SW News: On Thursday, a delegation from Pakistan's Christian minority met with EU parliamentarians in Brussels to discuss the grave issue of religious persecution in their country.

The meeting demanded that the European Parliament take note of mob violence against Christians in Jaranwala, Faisalabad district, and intimidation of Christians in Sargodha based on fabricated blasphemy accusations. They also urged the European Parliament to consider a debate and resolution to address the religious persecution of Christians in Pakistan.

This idea was presented at a meeting of the European Parliament in Brussels by a delegation consisting of Joseph Jansen, Shagufta Kausar, and Asif Mall.

In light of the Jaranwala incident, Joseph Jansen, the advocacy officer for the Jubilee Campaign, updated the European Parliament on the state of religious freedom in Pakistan. He accused the religious political group Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) of supporting the application of blasphemy legislation to punish innocent Christians in Jaranwala by accusing them of the destruction of the Holy Quran. This accusation resulted in mob violence that destroyed 26 churches and over 80 Christian houses.

Several members of the European Parliament, including Charlie Weimers, David Lega, Bert-Jan Ruissen, and Anja Haga, stated their intention to take serious actions within the European Parliament to address the problem of religion-based violence in Pakistan.

 

Meanwhile, Jansen voiced concern about the ongoing investigations, emphasizing that police authorities seemed to prioritize the mob assault on Christians over the purported blasphemy claims leveled against them, which were believed to be driven by personal vendettas.

He also demanded the safety of Christians accused of blasphemy in Jaranwala and Sargodha, as well as an open inquiry and prosecution of the instigators and perpetrators of mob violence.

The delegation noted that religious freedom in Pakistan is deplorable and that MPs would do everything in their power to pressure the government to enact positive changes to mitigate the negative impacts of false and aggressive blasphemy claims