Clerics on Friday said the Jaranwala rampage was against the teaching of Islam and called on the government to take strict actions against perpetrators. On Wednesday, a mob targeted the Christian community in Jaranwala tehsil of Faisalabad, leaving churches and over a dozen homes in ruins. A day earlier, Punjab police had arrested at least 140 alleged miscreants, including two prime suspects, and registered five cases.
Those arrested by the police included main suspect Muhammad Yasin, identified through a video in which he was seen making an announcement on loudspeakers of mosques to incite Muslims against the religious minority, urging the former to come out of their homes to participate in riots. He reportedly made announcements from five mosques.
Meanwhile, the Punjab government has vowed to restore all the churches and homes of the Christians destroyed by the mob within the next three to four days.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, prominent religious scholar Mufti Taqi Usmani called the Jaranwala incident “shameful” and “highly condemnable”.
Separately, in a press conference, Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee Chairman Maulana Abdul Khabeer Azad said a high-level commission should be constituted to probe the Jaranwala rampage.
“We should remember that Pakistan is a state and will take action against anyone doing anything wrong. But not everyone has permission to set up their own courts and set houses on fire,” he asserted, recalling the times when the Christian community stood with Muslims and protested against the desecration of the Holy Quran.
Pakistan, Maulana Azad continued, belonged to everyone. “Whether it is the Holy Quran, Torah or Zabur their respect and honour is a part of our faith.”
The scholar then read out a verse from the Holy Quran and said that the murder of one person was the murder of humanity while saving one life was equivalent to protecting humanity.
Maulana Azad demanded that those involved in the Jaranwala violence should be given an “exemplary punishment” and stressed the need to make Pakistan free of violence, terrorism and disruption.
