Kot Radha Kishan incident: ‘We buried their remains yet their killers are free’

Bishop demands inquiry into case of Christian couple burnt to death.

KARACHI: The atmosphere was tense. Everyone at Trinity Church could feel it. They were talking about the Kot Radha Kishan incident where a young Christian man and his pregnant wife were burnt to death in a brick kiln last week.

"The only things left of the couple, were some bones and teeth," said Bishop Sadiq Daniel. "We had to bury the remains of the dead as per our customs." Bishop Daniel was speaking at a press conference held at the church on Saturday evening organised by the Church of Pakistan. Daniel, a diocese of Karachi Balochistan, had invited members of the civil society, Muslim scholars and others to speak at the event.



"We have to stop these atrocities," he said. "To see change, we will first have to change the schools' curriculum." He mentioned events that had taken place in Shanti Nagar and the Bhawalpur Church in which a number of people were shot or the attack at the Idara-e-Aman Insaf office in Karachi where seven people were shot at a point blank range. The bishop claimed that non-state actors were involved in these crimes.

"The murderer of Salmaan Taseer has been declared as hero," he said. "These things make us wonder if it is just fundamentalists who are behind this or if the country's establishment is also involved." He added that there was an immediate need to promote interfaith harmony.

The bishop claimed that because of what was happening in the country, many minorities, including the Christian and Hindus, were seeking asylum in countries such as Malaysia, Sri Lanka and India. With a heavy heart, he said it was difficult to imagine someone living happily away from a place they called home.

"This is our land," he said. "I don't know why this couple was burnt alive. We just buried what was left of them and yet, their culprits are roaming around freely." He demanded a judicial inquiry into the case and said that all suspects should be arrested.

"The wrong use of Article 295 should be prohibited so that society can progress and minorities can feel safe in their own country," he said.

The director of Pakistan Institute of Labor Education and Research (PILER), Karmat Ali, said that the couple was poor and belonged to the working class.

While talking about the incident and kiln owners, Ali claimed that the kiln owners were not just violating minimum wage laws, but were also forcing people into labour. He added that many times when these labourers raised their voice to fight for their rights, they were severely punished.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 10^th, 2014.