Washington, Mar. 11 (ANI): Christians and civil society activists across Pakistan took to the streets to demand government protection for the rising persecution of minority communities, a day after a brutal attack on Lahore's Christian community.
Earlier on Saturday, atleast 150 houses belonging to members of the Christian community were ransacked and burnt down by hundreds of Muslims, after a Christian man was accused of committing blasphemy against Prophet Mohammed.
The police have arrested dozens in connection to the rioting. But campaigners for religious minorities have said that arrests after past incidents have almost never led to punishments, and the blasphemy law that enables communal unrest remain on the books, reports the Christian Science Monitor.
Nadeem Anthony, a lawyer in Lahore who defends those facing a possible death sentence under the law, said the current government has passed many constitutional amendments during the last five years, but failed to act on the blasphemy law.
Anthony said the government has done almost nothing in response to past attacks on Christians.
Local reports suggest more than 100 people have been arrested so far. Besides the arrests, the government has promised to rebuild the burnt down houses and has also announced monetary compensation for the victims.
The Chief Justice of Pakistan has also taken a suo-moto notice of the incident and will hold hearings on the case tomorrow.
But human rights activists criticize these steps as a cosmetic measure and say the government needs to seriously reconsider its policy towards discrimination of minorities instead of having reactionary responses.
Zaman Khan, spokesperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said the reason for the delayed action is the prevalent anti-minority mindset of the government.
The human rights activist slammed the main political parties like the PPP and the PMLN, which are the traditional ruling elite in the country, for always siding with the religious extremists. (ANI)
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