June 3, 2024
By Mateen Ali
LAHORE
Christians and other minorities live in constant fear of false accusations of blasphemy. On Monday morning, victim of the Sargodha mob attack, Nazir Masih, finally succumbed to his wounds after battling for a week in intensive care. However even while he was in hospital, critically injured, a case of terrorism had been filed against him.
In response to the incident and the subsequent death of Nazir Masih, the National Minorities Alliance held a protest in Faisalabad Square. The protest condemned the act of violence and lynching under the guise of false and baseless accusations of blasphemy against Nazir Masih. The protesters demanded state institutions and the government to introduce serious measures for the protection of minorities.
Led by Lala Robin the protesters also demanded the set up of an empowered Commission of Inquiry to investigate violent acts against minorities under the guise of Takfir cases to determine the nature of cases, scale of abuses (statistics and analysis) and measures to deal with such situations.
They said that recommendations regarding legal, administrative and educational measures should be formulated. The group abusing the laws of Takfir should be exposed, and the perpetrators of inciting people to violence should be prosecuted and punished. They also demanded that a law should be passed as soon as possible to prevent forced marriage and forced conversion of minority girls, and the10-year-old Christian girl Laiba Sohail should be handed over to her parents.
The protesters said that there have been more than a dozen violent attacks against Christians in the name of religion in Punjab, including burning of Christians alive, burning of churches and properties and looting. They said that the increase in serious incidents of harming the lives and property and self-esteem of Christians in Punjab is worrisome, which is a question mark on the responsibility and performance of the government and administration.
Thousands of suspects involved in attacks against minorities in the name of religion were identified, none of whom were punished severely, on the contrary, those arrested on charges of insulting religion had to bear the hardships of imprisonment for years, said the protesters. Despite being found innocent by the courts in false accusations, they still faced difficulties in leading a free life.
