Pakistan: Mob burns churches over blasphemy claims

Thousands of Muslims successful a metropolis successful Pakistan person acceptable occurrence to churches and vandalised homes belonging to Christians implicit claims that 2 men had desecrated the Quran, constabulary say.

The attacks took spot successful Jaranwala successful the state of eastbound Punjab.

Police said astatine slightest 4 churches had been acceptable connected fire, portion residents said up to a twelve buildings connected to churches had been damaged.

Blasphemy is punishable by decease successful Pakistan.

No-one has ever been executed for it, but dozens person antecedently been killed by mobs aft being accused of the crime.

The Muslim assemblage is believed to marque up implicit 96% of Pakistan's population.

Police making the lawsuit against the 2 Christian men accidental they recovered pages of the Quran, the beatified publication of Islam, with derogatory remarks written successful red, Reuters reported.

Yassir Bhatti, a 31-year-old Christian, was 1 of those to fly their homes.

"They broke the windows, doors and took retired fridges, sofas, chairs and different household items to heap them up successful beforehand of the Church to beryllium burnt," helium told AFP quality agency.

"They besides burnt and desecrated Bibles, they were ruthless."

Videos uploaded to societal media amusement protesters destroying Christian buildings portion constabulary look to ticker on.

Amir Mir, the accusation curate for Punjab province, condemned the alleged blasphemy and said successful a connection that thousands of constabulary had been sent to the country and dozens of radical had been detained.

The mob was mostly made up of radical from an Islamist governmental enactment called Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), a authorities root told Reuters. The TLP has denied immoderate involvement.

Caretaker PM Anwar ul Haq Kakar called for swift enactment against those liable for the violence.

Pakistani bishop Azad Marshall, successful the neighbouring metropolis of Lahore, said the Christian assemblage was "deeply pained and distressed" by the events.

"We outcry retired for justness and enactment from instrumentality enforcement and those who dispense justice, and the information of each citizens to intervene instantly and guarantee america that our lives are invaluable successful our ain homeland," helium posted connected X, formerly known arsenic Twitter.