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Anti-minority riots are not new to Pakistan which has a long
history of religious violence. Yet, the recent anti-Christian
riots stunned Pakistan observers by their sheer barbaric intensity.
So shocking was the violence perpetrated on the minority community
that Archbishop Daniel Tasleem has demanded separate province for
Christians, called Takistan, in the area between the Ravi and
Satluj rivers.
On February 5 and 6, two villages in Multan division Shantinager
and Tibba - were looted, burned and ransacked by 20,000 people and,
hold your breath, 500 policemen!
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, which visited the riot-hit
villages, claimed the communal conflagration was sparked by an
alleged act of blasphemy committed by a Christian. Some burnt
pages of the Holy Koran bearing a Christian name presumably of the
desecrator - were reportedly found outside a small roadside mosque
close to Shantinager.
Immediately, an announcement of "the act of desecration" was made
through loudspeakers from a mosque in nearby Khanewal town. The
faithful were urged to pick up arms and gather round the mosque.
The HRCP report states, 'A crowd of people from the surrounding
areas gathered round the mosque. The frenzied mob ransacked several
churches in Khanewal.'
The town's main church St Joseph's - and a children's hostel
surrounding it, were also ransacked.
The rampage continued on the morning of February 6. The mob first
attacked Tibba, and then moved to Shantinager town.
Shockingly, the police and the district administration were
themselves party to this carnage. Pakistani press reports claim
the mob was led by clergy, the police and the district magistrate,
who asked the Christian inhabitants to leave their houses which
were looted, torched and then blown up.
A fact-finding team of Christian leaders that visited the villages
said over 1500 houses and shops, 13 churches, hostels and
dispensaries were destroyed by the mob. They even tried to
forcibly convert 10 girls to Islam.
Several women were molested and raped.
The executive editor of Friday Times; a Pakistani newspaper, wrote,
'The police first evacuated the Christian population of 15,000,
then helped the raiders use battlefield explosives to blow up their
houses and properties.'
The report goes on to state that a Pakistan army unit, sent to
protect the villages, was stopped by some police officers outside
Shantinager. The officers claimed that 'things were under
control.'
The unit moved in only hours later, when it saw several Christian
villagers fleeing. By then, most houses in the village were
burning and they could save only a few from destruction.
Another report published in the country's premier newspaper, Dawn,
quoting eyewitnesses claimed, 'The Pakistani police actively
participated in the vandalism.' The policemen were reportedly upset
with some Christian residents of Shantinager, whose complaints had
led to the suspension of some of their colleagues.
The police sought the help of the pro-Islamic party, the Anjuman
Sipah Sahaba, and the Harkat-ul-Ansar fighters to carry out the
rampage.
While the Sipah Sahaba is known to be one of the most virulent of
Pakistan's parties, the Harkat-ul-Ansar is its terrorist offshoot.
The Harkat Is notorious for spearheading Pakistan-sponsored
terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir.
Founded in Khanewal, the Sipah Sahaba has turned the area into a
hotbed of sectarian violence.
In October 1996, activists of the Sahaba assassinated the Khanewal
deputy commissioner of police Ali Raze Kharal, a Shia Muslim.
In January this year, Sahaba chief Maulana Ziaur Rehman Farroqui,
who had stood for elections from Khanewal, was assassinated In a
bomb explosion in Lahore by suspected Shia militants.
According to the Dawn, 'The criminalisation of the Sipah Sahaba and
Its metamorphosis into a terrorist organisation was confirmed by
the police high command at a press conference, where the offenders
confessed to bank dacoities and other crimes.'
However, it is unlikely that the Pakistani government will take any
steps to curb their terrorist activities. As the report in the Dawn
says, 'The Sipah is strengthened and given immunity by its
offshoot, the Harkat-ul-Ansar, which the state authorities tolerate
because of its participation in the Kashmir jehad.'
Even in the recent riots, there was complete official apathy and
the district administration remained paralysed.
Journalist Eqbal Ahmed in an article in the Dawn described the
carnage as the 'worst incident of sectarian violence in recent
memory.'
The HRCP report asserts, 'The loot and destruction of a whole
civilian habitation was unprecedented... It was reminiscent, in
part, of the days of partition in 1947.'
The HRCP said that its members returned from the scene of the
carnage 'not just shaken by what they saw and heard, but felt
alarmed at the omen it held for the future.' For the ten million
Christians residing in Pakistan, the attacks have been traumatic.
Several youth from Karachi, Islamabad and Rawalpindi took out
protest marches which turned violent.
How deep runs the insecurity within Pakistan's Christian community
Is reflected by the formation of the Sipah Maseeha (Army of
Christ). Archbishop Daniel Tasleem, In a press conference after
the riots, claimed the Sipah Maseeha would protect and safeguard
the Christians, as the government had failed.
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