Top court to hear petition on Jaranwala rampage

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial on Monday fixed for hearing a petition related to the tragic incident in Faisalabad district’s Jaranwala where at least 19 churches were torched by a violent mob over blasphemy allegations on August 16.

The bench will be headed by CJP Bandial himself and comprised Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Shahid Wahid. The apex court has also issued notices to the relevant parties on the matter.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, the petitioner, Samuel Piyare said that he was informed by the Supreme Court office that the hearing for the case was scheduled for Tuesday.

However, he added that the top court later informed him that the court’s Human Rights Cell has not yet received a report on the matter; therefore, the hearing would not take place tomorrow.

More than 80 Christian homes and 19 churches were vandalised when thousands rampaged through a Christian neighbourhood in Jaranwala last week.

Terror and panic gripped the town for hours as the mob equipped with batons, push carts and patrol cans stormed the neighbourhood, ransacking homes and vandalising places of worship while chanting slogans of a right-wing party.

Read: Govt, TLP agree to stringent anti-blasphemy measures

Reports that a copy of the Holy Quran had been desecrated were broadcast from mosques, with one cleric telling his followers it was "Better to die if you don't care about Islam".

The mob attack was widely condemned by political and religious leaders of the country as well as by civil society and the army chief.

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar stated that such incidents highlight “prevailing societal ailment” during a solidarity visit to the city earlier today.

Speaking at a gathering of the Christian community, the premier emphasised unity among different faiths. “If any individual is found committing injustices against the lives or property of minorities, the state will stand in solidarity with the minority brethren,” he added.

A cleric is among a dozen people being investigated for using mosque loudspeakers to order protests that erupted into mob violence, a senior police official said.

Also read: Govt to pay Rs2m for each house torched in Jaranwala

"That cleric should have understood that when you gather people in such a charged environment... in a country in which people were already very sensitive about (blasphemy) it is like adding fuel to fire," Punjab IGP Usman Anwar told AFP during an interview.

He said the cleric was one of 12 people who were being investigated for using mosque loudspeakers, while more than 125 people have been arrested linked to the vandalism that followed, thanks to the use of facial recognition technology, mobile phone geo-fencing and data gathered from social media.

At its peak, more than 5,000 people had poured into the neighbourhood from other districts, with smaller mobs spreading to narrow alleys where they ransacked homes.

Christians who fled in their hundreds have criticised police for failing to protect their property, with some sheltered by their Muslim neighbours.