Author: Reuters
Publication: Reuters.com
Date: August 1, 2009
URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/newsMaps/idUSTRE5701BH20090801
Six Christians, including four women, were
burned alive in clashes with majority Muslims in a town in central Pakistan
on Saturday, officials said.
Tension has been running high between the
two communities in Gojra town in central Punjab province over allegations
that Christians had desecrated a Koran.
Clashes erupted early on Saturday, with an
exchange of fire from the members of the two communities.
Television footage showed burning houses and
streets strewn with blackened furniture and people firing at each other from
their rooftops.
Shahbaz Bhatti, minister for minorities, said
a mob "misled by religious extremists," attacked a Christian neighborhood
and torched dozens of houses.
"We have received six bodies of people
who died of burn injuries. They included four women, one man and one child,"
Abdul Hamid, a Health Ministry official in the town told Reuters by telephone.
Rana Sanaullah, provincial minister for law,
who is also responsible for security matters of Punjab, condemned the attack
and said an inquiry had been ordered.
However, he said, a preliminary investigation
showed there was no desecration of the Koran. "It was just a rumor which
was exploited by anti-state elements to create chaos," he said.
"I request both Muslim and Christian
communities to show restraint," Sanaullah said, adding the government
would take strict action against rioters and also police who failed to stop
the violence.
Pakistan is a predominantly Muslim nation
and religious minorities, including Christians, account for roughly 4 percent
of the 170 million population.
Muslims and minorities largely live in harmony
but there have been periodic attacks on Christian targets in Pakistan since
it became a U.S. ally following the September 11 attacks on the United States.
