In Islamabad days of rioting between
Christians and Muslims in eastern
Pakistan following allegations that a
Quran was defiled escalated Saturday,
leaving six Christians dead, including a
child, authorities said.
Members of a
banned Muslim organization began
torching Christian homes in the Punjabi
city of Gora on Thursday after accusing
them of desecrating pages from Islam's
holy book, Federal Minister for
Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti said.
"There
is no truth in the allegation," he told
The Associated Press, adding that he had
himself visited Gojra on Friday and
asked police to provide protection to
Christians who were facing threats.
Ignoring his instructions and said
hundreds of radical Muslims on Saturday
burned more Christians homes and killed
six, including four women and a child.
Television footage from the scene showed
houses burning and streets strewn with
debris and blackened furniture as mobs
ran at each other.
Local media also
reported gunfights had broken out
between Christian and Muslim communities
and that rioters had blocked the local
railway line. Pakistan is predominantly
a Sunni Muslim state where Christians
are a tiny minority.
Although the two
sides generally live peacefully, since
the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the U.S.,
pro-Taliban militants have periodically
targeted churches and Christians,
suspecting them of sympathizing with
Washington.
'Miscreants and extremists'
Bhatti said the attackers belonged to
the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba group, which
is accused of launching attacks against
the security forces and carrying out
bombs attacks at public places in the
country in recent years. Punjab law
minister Rana Sanaullah said authorities
had investigated the allegation of a
Quran being defaced "and our initial
reports say that there has not been any
incident of desecration." Sanaullah said
that although the situation had calmed
down by Friday, "some miscreants and
extremists entered the city today and
pushed people toward armed clashes."
Another minister, Dost Mohammad Khosa,
said the issue of the alleged
desecration had been settled. "Today,
somebody opened fire at a peaceful rally
that was passing by a Christian
neighborhood. That made things worse. We
are sure some miscreant elements have
tried to exploit the situation," he
said. Faislabad Commissioner Tahir
Hussain told local television that
representatives of the two communities
were to meet later Saturday in an effort
to calm the situation. "Let's hope for
the best. The emotions of the Muslims
are very high," he said. "And the
Christians again they have faced the
wrath and they have faced the
casualties, and their emotions are also
very high."
SOURCE
