Desecration charges: Iqbal Town Christians haunted by old ghost
ASWJ activist blame them for sacrilege of copies found at an abandoned house.
ASWJ activist blame them for sacrilege of copies found at an abandoned house. PHOTO: REUTERS
ISLAMABAD:
Still reeling under the shock and awe of Sunday’s church bombings, Christian residents of Iqbal Town are facing another spectre for the last two days.
The residents who protested against the Peshawar carnage, are now bearing the brunt of exercising their fundamental right, as activists of a religious party are allegedly maligning them of desecration of the Holy Quran.
On late Tuesday night, activists of the Ahle Sunnat wal Jamaat (ASWJ) and residents of Pindorian, Ashraf Town, adjacent to Iqbal Town staged a protest rally against the alleged desecration of the Holy Quran by unknown people.
The rally, led by Munir Muavia, an activist of the ASWJ, was taken out after the residents found some damaged copies of the Holy Quran from an abandoned house located in Pindorian.
Speakers at the rally blamed the Christians for the desecration. Later, a first information report was also registered with the Shahzad Town Police Station against unknown persons on an application by the locals.
Separately, a case has also been registered with the same police against 50 nominated and 250 unknown Christian residents of the Iqbal Town for torturing a motorcyclist during the protest rally against the church carnage.
“The Christians of Iqbal Town spent the last night in fear as they as they braced themselves for a possible attack on their houses, as speakers at the ASWJ rally had threatened them of dire consequences,” Pastor Samuel of Living Stone Christ Church said while talking to The Express Tribune.
He said that local residents were unhappy over the protest and road blockade in the area by the Christians protesters. Samuel said that against the backdrop of the threat, the local administration has deployed police around the Christian Colony, New Iqbal Town, and youngsters were also performing security duties.
“The FIR related to the alleged desecration of the Holy Quran has been registered against unknown persons not the Christians under Section 295-B,” said Shahzad Town police station’s Habibur Rehman, who has been appointed as investigation officer in both the cases.
He said the police on Wednesday recovered several copies of the Quran from a house located in Pindorian, which were later shifted to the police station. “The house belongs to a shopkeeper who hails from Kashmir,” he added. Rehman said the house was abandoned for many days and recent rains and overflowing of an adjacent nullah caused damage to copies of the holy book.
A contingent of police on Wednesday patrolled in and around the Pindorian area. Khurram, 30, a rickshaw driver and a resident of the area told The Express Tribune that the house, where the copies of Quran were found, belonged to a Muslim, who is a hakeem by profession and runs a shop in Pindorian market.
Yet in another case, the Shahzad Town police have registered an FIR against over 300 Christians on Sohail Satti’s complaint, who told the police that he along with his sister was on his way home when he was allegedly intercepted by the protesters. Satti alleged that the protesters beat him up and opened fire.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 26th, 2013.
Still reeling under the shock and awe of Sunday’s church bombings, Christian residents of Iqbal Town are facing another spectre for the last two days.
The residents who protested against the Peshawar carnage, are now bearing the brunt of exercising their fundamental right, as activists of a religious party are allegedly maligning them of desecration of the Holy Quran.
On late Tuesday night, activists of the Ahle Sunnat wal Jamaat (ASWJ) and residents of Pindorian, Ashraf Town, adjacent to Iqbal Town staged a protest rally against the alleged desecration of the Holy Quran by unknown people.
The rally, led by Munir Muavia, an activist of the ASWJ, was taken out after the residents found some damaged copies of the Holy Quran from an abandoned house located in Pindorian.
Speakers at the rally blamed the Christians for the desecration. Later, a first information report was also registered with the Shahzad Town Police Station against unknown persons on an application by the locals.
Separately, a case has also been registered with the same police against 50 nominated and 250 unknown Christian residents of the Iqbal Town for torturing a motorcyclist during the protest rally against the church carnage.
“The Christians of Iqbal Town spent the last night in fear as they as they braced themselves for a possible attack on their houses, as speakers at the ASWJ rally had threatened them of dire consequences,” Pastor Samuel of Living Stone Christ Church said while talking to The Express Tribune.
He said that local residents were unhappy over the protest and road blockade in the area by the Christians protesters. Samuel said that against the backdrop of the threat, the local administration has deployed police around the Christian Colony, New Iqbal Town, and youngsters were also performing security duties.
“The FIR related to the alleged desecration of the Holy Quran has been registered against unknown persons not the Christians under Section 295-B,” said Shahzad Town police station’s Habibur Rehman, who has been appointed as investigation officer in both the cases.
He said the police on Wednesday recovered several copies of the Quran from a house located in Pindorian, which were later shifted to the police station. “The house belongs to a shopkeeper who hails from Kashmir,” he added. Rehman said the house was abandoned for many days and recent rains and overflowing of an adjacent nullah caused damage to copies of the holy book.
A contingent of police on Wednesday patrolled in and around the Pindorian area. Khurram, 30, a rickshaw driver and a resident of the area told The Express Tribune that the house, where the copies of Quran were found, belonged to a Muslim, who is a hakeem by profession and runs a shop in Pindorian market.
Yet in another case, the Shahzad Town police have registered an FIR against over 300 Christians on Sohail Satti’s complaint, who told the police that he along with his sister was on his way home when he was allegedly intercepted by the protesters. Satti alleged that the protesters beat him up and opened fire.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 26th, 2013.