Court’s Denial of Justice Leaves Christian Victims Stunned 

03/09/2017 Washington D.C. (International Christian Concern) – International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that Pakistani Christians living in Joseph Colony, a majority Christian neighborhood in Lahore, are marking the fourth anniversary of the neighborhood’s razing.
On March 9, 2013, a mob of approximately 3,000 enraged Muslims attacked Joseph Colony, burning more than 170 Christian homes and two churches. The incident started after a local Christian, Sawan Masih, was accused of making derogatory remarks against the Muslim prophet Muhammad three days before the neighborhood was attacked. On March 8, 2013, violence broke out after Friday prayers when approximately 100 Muslims pelted Masih’s house with stones and beat his elderly father. Masih was taken into police custody and later charged with committing blasphemy.
Hundreds of Christians fled the neighborhood later that night, fearing the threatened retribution. The following day, March 9, 2013, thousands of Muslims returned to Joseph Colony and attacked Christian-owned houses, shops, and churches. No Christians were reportedly injured during the attack, but their possessions and properties were either stolen or destroyed by the mob.
Earlier this year, on January 28, an anti-terrorism court in Pakistan acquitted the more than 100 suspects accused of participating in the attack on Joseph Colony. During a court hearing, Justice Chaudhry Muhammad Azam accepted the arguments of the defense and cited “insufficient evidence” as justification for the acquittals, in spite of ample video and photo evidence of the attack.
Many Christian leaders publicly expressed their disappointment with the court’s decision, calling the ruling “discriminatory and biased.”
“The judgment shows that religious minorities are not equal citizens before the law in this country,” Tariq Siraj, Chairman of the Muthida Masihi Party, said in response to the court’s decision. “The court has not given any weight to the video clips and print media coverage of the violent attack.”
“If all are innocent, then who burned the houses?” Wajid Masih, a Christian of Joseph Colony, asked. “[The] government should come up with an answer to this question.”
“We are sad and unsatisfied with the court proceedings,” Zaida Bibi, another Christian from Joseph Colony, told ICC. “The attackers not only set our houses on fire, but also desecrated churches and Bibles. The government must provide adequate protection for the victims.”
ICC’s Regional Manager, William Stark, said, “The attack on Joseph Colony and the lack of justice the Christian victims received is just another example of the persecution facing Christians in Pakistan. Because of the impunity allowed by the Pakistani government and the country’s notorious blasphemy laws, thousands of Muslims felt justified in attacking and destroying an entire Christian neighborhood to ‘avenge’ one Christian’s ‘blasphemous’ remarks. Rather than protecting Pakistani citizens, as the law should, blasphemy laws often provide cover and embolden extremists to commit violent acts which is exactly what happened in Joseph Colony four years ago. This has to change. Pakistan’s failure to bring justice to those affected by the attack on Joseph Colony not only fails to protect the individual victims, but also the country’s already vulnerable minority communities.”