February 3, 2026
By Iqra Manzoor
LAHORE
Christian community leaders in a press conference in Faisalabad on Monday, February 2, raised their concern, over what they say is a newly growing trend, and describe as ‘discriminatory policing’ and stereotyping under the ongoing anti-drug drive in Punjab. They allege that over the past two months, members of the minority community have increasingly been subjected to raids and criminal cases falsely linking them to narcotics.
Addressing the press conference at the Faisalabad Press Club, Minority Rights Movement (MRM) chief Lala Robin Daniel, along with other Christian leaders, said the community fully supports efforts to curb drug abuse but rejects what they termed a targeted narrative portraying Christians as centres of drug activity. According to them, substances such as heroin, hashish, and ice are being falsely associated with the community through baseless police cases and social media campaigns.
The speakers warned that such narratives risk criminalising an entire religious community and deepening social prejudice. They urged authorities to intervene and ensure transparency in law enforcement and intelligence reporting.
The community leaders complained that if by law they as members of religious minorities, were allowed the sale and purchase of alcohol, then they could not be arrested for it by labelling it a ‘drug’.
“If any arm of the state such as the police, declares alcohol a drug, and advertises it as that, that would be a violation of the law,” they said.
Speaking to Voicepk, Lala Robin Daniel, one of the prominent leaders, said that members of the Christian community were being booked under narcotics-related provisions, including Section 9(c), through what he described as false and discriminatory cases.
“Our community is being targeted through fabricated drug cases,” he said. “This discrimination is extremely dangerous for us as a minority community.”
Daniel added that while members of the community possessed legal licenses for alcohol, they were still being falsely accused of dealing in substances such as heroin, ice, and hashish. “This campaign of bogus cases risks branding the entire Christian community as criminal,” he warned.
He further alleged bias on the part of the Regional Police Officer (RPO), DIG Sohail Akhtar Sukhera, claiming that police were inflating drug-related statistics by registering false cases against Christian residents.
“Many members of our community are currently facing fabricated narcotics charges,” he said.
Voicepk attempted to contact DIG Sohail Akhtar Sukhera for a response to these allegations; however, no response had been received at the time of filing this report.
Community leaders also cited a recent incident in which police conducted searches of two houses in Christian Town, within the limits of Gulberg Police Station, following what they described as a false tip-off. According to them, police later apologised after finding no illegal material, while the informant did not come forward. The leaders alleged that intelligence reports were often biased and one-sided, calling on the heads of intelligence agencies to ensure transparency in their reporting mechanisms.
They warned that if the alleged false cases were not withdrawn within five days and the practice continued, the community would stage a sit-in protest outside the Punjab Assembly.