ICC Note:

According to reports, local police in Lahore disrupted a Sunday service and manhandled the pastor of that church after a local Muslim called to complain about the service. In Pakistan, Christians are granted the right to religious freedom, despite the fact that they face intense persecution and discrimination because of their religious identity. Many Christians in Lahore have demonstrated against the actions of the police which has led to one police officer being suspended. Will this incident help highlight the persecution and discrimination Christians in Pakistan face?

6/13/2016 Pakistan (Daily Mail) – The Awami Workers Party (AWP) on Sunday condemned an incident wherein a policeman allegedly barged in a church during a Sunday service, manhandled the pastor and hurled threats at the people attending the service.

An AWP delegation, which joined a demonstration on Ferozepur Road after the alleged incident, said that head Constable Ameer Abdullah, who was not on duty, barged in the church in the middle of the service on Sunday. He allegedly used foul language against the people attending the service and told them to stop it. The policeman allegedly manhandled Pastor Riaz Rehmat when he told him not to disturb the service. He allegedly threatened the pastor with consequences.

According to a press statement issued by the AWP on Sunday, the demonstration against the policeman continued for more than two hours. The protesters were carrying placards inscribed with the slogan, “Christians in Pakistan need the right to practice their faith peacefully”. They demanded swift action against the policeman for allegedly disrespecting the Christian worship place, manhandling the pastor and threatening the people attending the service. The deputy superintendent of the Ichchra Police reached the scene and assured the protesters of action against the policeman and the man who called the police to the church.

However, when a delegation consisting of AWP activists and church elders went to the police station to file a complaint, they were told that the policeman had been suspended and an FIR would be lodged against him after an investigation into the matter.

According to the locals, Sunday services were underway at all churches in the Fazlia Colony area when the policeman entered The United Church, allegedly manhandled the pastor and disrespected the place of worship. They said that the news of the incident at The United Church reached the nearby churches where people mistook it as a terror attack on the church.

“The policeman terrorized us,” said an elderly woman at the Sunday service. She said that actions of the policeman and the man living in the church neighborhood made them feel scared and vulnerable. “The man who called up the police and complained about us could sabotage the relations between Muslims and Christians of the neighborhood,” she said.

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