مؤسسة الإمام الخوئي الخيرية تدين حرق الكنائس والاعتداء على الجالية المسيحية في باكستان

مؤسسة الإمام الخوئي الخيرية تدين حرق الكنائس والاعتداء على الجالية المسيحية في باكستان
 
مؤسسة الإمام الخوئي الخيرية تدين بشدة قيام مجموعة من المتطرفين بحرق الكنائس والاعتداء على الجالية المسيحية في باكستان

The Al-Khoei Foundation strongly condemns the recent horrific incident in Jaranwala, in Punjab province, Pakistan, where a violent mob attacked and burned over 80 Christian homes and churches over an alleged act of desecration of the Holy Quran. The distressing incident has left a huge number of Christian families displaced fearing for their lives.

In 2013, Joseph Colony, another Christian colony in Lahore, Punjab, suffered a similar tragedy.

While the Al-Khoei Foundation strongly deplores acts of desecration and burning of the Holy Quran and other religious texts, it firmly rejects and condemns all acts of violence including those against religious minorities.

The Foundation is also gravely concerned about the recent bill passed by Pakistan's Senate, a controversial 'The Criminal Laws (Amendment) Act’ that intensifies Pakistan's blasphemy punishment to lifetime imprisonment. It should be noted that a similar bill was introduced in the Punjab Assembly in 2020 by a well-known anti-Shi'a faction in Pakistan.

Noting the misuse of blasphemy laws on previous occasions to target religious minorities in Pakistan, we fear that this bill will have serious repercussions and will further strengthen the extremist narrative in Pakistan.

Our thoughts are with the victims of the Jaranwala attack and we are hopeful that the arrest of the perpetrators by the authorities will allow justice to take its course. We call on the Government of Pakistan to safeguard the religious minorities and stop measures that further harm freedom of religion or belief in the country.