Karachi: The minority Christian community
in Karachi is living in fear after being attacked by enraged
mobs after a young boy allegedly stole fruit from a vendor.
The attack on the congested Christian colony came
around the same time that two Sikhs were beheaded in the
tribal areas after their families failed to pay ransoms to
militants.
Tension prevailed in the Paharganj area which is
dominated by Pashtuns most of them affiliated to the Awami
national party (ANP) a coalition partner of the ruling
government.
According to Asif Stephen, a Christian MPA from the
area, violent and heavily armed mobs attacked the colony in
Pahargang and desecrated two churches in the area and caused
heavy damage to Christian homes, school and shops owned or run
by Christians.
"The trouble started over a small incident where a
Christian boy was caught by a Pashtun fruit seller stealing
from his cart.
The vendor hit the boy which led to protests from
nearby Christians who slapped him around," Stephen said.
"After the incident the Christian colony was
attacked by angry mobs who were heavily armed and who injured
many of our people," he said.
He said the police had also played a biased role and
at least eight to nine Christians were charged with rioting
and jailed without any evidence.
"The police further complicated the issue by
arresting these innocent people whose relatives are now
running from pillar to post to get them released."
The town police officer, Javed Babar said only
those people including members of both communities were booked
who were guilty of causing trouble.
Eye witnesses said the heavily armed mobs had
attacked the Christian colony and caused havoc for about 20
minutes injuring several people.
"This is a Christian colony that has around 20 to
25,000 registered voters and they are now living in fear
although we have formed a peace committee with the Pashtuns
and are trying to restore normalcy," Stephen said.
Attacks on Christian communities have taken a number
of times in the Punjab province but are rare in big cities
like Karachi.
Last year alone they were two major incidents in
Punjab where over 100 homes of Christians were burnt and some
of them were also killed by religious fanatics in Kasur and
Gojra areas.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, February 24, 2010, 22:19