VIOLENCE IN PAKISTAN - Government compensates attacked Christians

Published Date: July 8, 2009

The Punjab provincial government has distributed the first checks to recently attacked Christians, after announcing it would pay 220,000 rupees (US$2,750) to each of them as compensation.

Father Pervez Raza handing out a government
compensation cheque to a villager in Bahmani Wala.

On July 6, Ahmed Ali Tohlu, a member of the provincial assembly, distributed 20,000-rupee checks to 57 Christians whose houses in Bahmani Wala village were looted and damaged on June 30 by a Muslim mob. Tohlu promised to hand over the rest of the amount within two weeks.

Three Catholic priests and several government officials presided at the ceremony in front of United Church, the only church in the village, which all denominations use. The attack came after allegations spread that a Christian there had committed blasphemy the previous day.

“The compensation will help in slowly rebuilding what was damaged, but our hearts are heavy with grief,” said Yousaf Masih, one of the beneficiaries. “But the money cannot make up for the terror we were subjected to.”

Local people say a pregnant woman suffered a miscarriage when she tried to save herself and a child when assailants threw acid on two other Christian women taking a bath at the time. The families fled the village at night to seek safety.

Catholic parishes around the country have appealed for aid for the Bahmani Wala victims. Bishop Andrew Francis of Multan sent a truckload of food hampers to the Christian farmers on July 7.

Father Morris Jalal, parish priest of St. Francis Church in Lahore, arrived that same day at the village with a truck carrying 175 packages containing flour, rice, lentils, tea and milk.

Oblate Father Pervez Raza heads Our Lady of Sorrows parish based in Kasur, which serves the village area.

“All efforts are being made to resolve the conflict with dialogue, since the government is fulfilling its promises,” he told UCA News. “We are trying to persuade local people not to protest or register complaints of destruction of property and theft.”

The priest also said the parish provided three meals a day to 117 Christian families at their homes for the week following the attack.

The government replaced all electric meters stolen from the Christian houses during the attack and repaired their water pumps within three days.

“We have deployed 22 police officers in the village to prevent further riots,” said police Inspector Akmal Kauser. “Christians were targeted due to a misunderstanding, and the government is trying to support and protect the minorities.”

Hundreds of Christian villagers staged a demonstration at a local main road on July 1 against the government’s failure to protect religious minorities.

Muslims involved in the attack have registered a blasphemy complaint against 11 Christians. Pakistan’s blasphemy laws punish vaguely defined insults to Prophet Muhammad or the Qur’an. Church leaders have long charged the laws are abused for personal gain and to harass non-Muslims.

A church fact-finding team said a quarrel between a local Christian and Muslim on June 29 sparked the attack.

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