Local Police Prevents Religious Outrage Against Christians in Pakistan

The European Center for Law and Justice’s (ECLJ) affiliate in Pakistan, the Organization for Legal Aid (OLA), received a report on May 6 from Amir Yaqoob, a Christian resident of Mandi Bahauldin in Pakistan, about a possibility of serious escalation of Muslim violence against Christians within the village. After hearing this news, the OLA dispatched a fact-finding team to the village.

When our team arrived at the scene, the police were present to maintain order. The team spoke with Amir Yaqoob, a Christian man, who informed us that the original squabble arose from a YouTube video critical of Islam. Allegedly, Yaqoob’s Christian friend, Imran Masih, left his phone unattended while he was working as a janitor at a local Health Center. When Imran returned to check his phone he noticed that his Muslim colleagues were watching the aforementioned video.

After the Muslims beat Imran for “having” the video on his phone, Imran tried to explain that he had not pulled the video up on YouTube. Despite his efforts, Bilal, one of his coworkers, spread word of the blasphemy to Muhammad Tufail, chairman of the local mosque’s committee, who called for violence against the Christian community as a whole. The Muslims also threatened to boycott selling produce to the Christian community.

Amir and his father, who had been a local political figure, attempted to resolve things with the offended parties. Discussions yielded nothing so Amir called the local police and informed them of the brewing conflict. The police were dispatched to the village. The police officers threatened to detain and prosecute any Muslims who attempted to take the law into their own hands. Additionally, they told the local Muslim clerics that any attempts to incite their congregations would result in police retaliation. The police official in charge of the area told Muslims that anybody can pull up a video on any phone; that does not mean the owner of the phone should be punished for the video’s content.

Just today, our team on the ground in Pakistan received word from Amir that, while Imran Masih and his family had to be relocated to a safer place, the situation in the village has calmed down. Amir praised local police officers for doing everything they could to maintain a peaceful environment. Additionally, we have learned that Muslim shop owners who had initially threatened to boycott selling produce to Christians have not carried out the boycott and continue to sell to Christians.

While religious persecution in Pakistan is far too prevalent, it is important to acknowledge and encourage the government officials within their political structure who are acting honorably to protect religious minorities. We hope that other government officials follow suit in situations where the poor and helpless minorities are at risk.