Christians protest ‘against harassment by police’

Christian residents say cop disrespected church premises, assaulted pastor

LAHORE: Scores of Christian residents of Fazlia Colony on Sunday blocked Ferozeupur Road for traffic and staged a demonstration against what they said was an incident of harassment by a police team at a church in the area during Sunday service.

The protesters said that one of the policemen had barged into The United Church, hurled abuses at the worshipers and slapped the pastor when stopped from entering with his shoes on.

Rizwan Aslam, one of the protesters, said he was attending the service inside the church when the police team came there. He said a guard deputed at the entrance had stopped one of the policemen from entering during the service but he pushed him to a side and entered the church with his shoes on. Pastor Riaz then went up to the policeman and requested him to respect the worship place but the policeman started hurling abuses and assaulted the pastor, he said.

Other protesters said the incident created panic in the area, drawing attention of Christian citizens attending Sunday congregations at the nearby Church of the Christ and Iqbal Church.

They said when the police team was asked about the reason for their raid they said they had received a call at the 15 helpline about the use of loudspeaker at the church.

Rizwan and other protesters who said they were attending service at The United Church dismissed the allegation that loudspeakers were being used at the church.

Samuel Masih, another resident of the area, said he was attending the service at The Church of Christ when the incident took place. He said a rumour spread that there had been a terrorist attack at The United Church. He said those in attendance got panicked as the last year’s suicide blasts at churches in Youhanabad area flashed in their mind.

Samuel Masih said Muslims and Christians had been living side by side in the area for decades. He said some miscreants were trying to disrupt this peaceful atmosphere.

Model Town SP Ammara Athar said that the suspect, head constable Ameer Abdullah, had been suspended and a departmental inquiry initiated against him. She said the police were also analysing the record of calls received from the area on its 15 helpline to ascertain whether some local resident was trying to disrupt communal harmony.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 13^th, 2016.