Pakistani Christians attacked by mob for alleged desecration of Quran

A large contingent of police cordoned off the settlement, he said, adding that the crowd was pushed back and five injured Christians were taken to hospital.

At least one house and a small shoe factory were burned by protesters gathered after neighbors claimed the Muslim holy book, the Koran, had been desecrated by a member of the minority community, according to a spokesperson for the police and Akmal Bhatti, a Christian. chief.

“They burned down a house and lynched several Christians,” says Bhatti.

Videos posted on social media showed protesters looting items from burning properties. Others were seen throwing the items into a burning pile in a street.

Bhatti said the videos were footage from the scene.

The Independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said the Christian community “faced grave risks to their lives at the hands of the indicted mobs.”

Blasphemy is a sensitive subject in conservative, Muslim-majority Pakistan, where a simple accusation can lead to street lynching.

Although blasphemy is punishable by death in Pakistan, no one has been executed by the state on this charge, although many accused have been lynched by outraged mobs.

A Muslim mob attacked a Christian community in eastern Pakistan last year, vandalizing several churches and burning many homes after accusing two of its members of desecrating the Quran.