In Response to Church Attacks, Pakistani Officials Arrested More Than 100 People in Punjab

According to Pakistan's National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR), at least 17 churches have been vandalised since Wednesday. After a Christian man was accused of blasphemy and desecrating the Quran, the attacks happened.

"NCHR research indicates that 17 churches in #Jaranwala have been attacked. Twelve registered churches and five smaller, unregistered congregations," NCHR wrote on Thursday on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The harsh blasphemy laws in Pakistan, which campaigners claim have historically been used to oppress minorities and exclude them from public life, frequently target Pakistan's Christian community.

A spokeswoman for the Punjab government claimed in a statement on Thursday that a mob of more than 5,000 people had gathered in groups surrounding the town of Jaranwala with the intention of storming the churches. However, authorities stopped the attack.

According to the spokesperson, a sizable police presence was stationed across the town, especially at places of worship, to ensure order. She also stated that an inquiry into the vandalism event had been opened.

Senior government officials in Islamabad strongly condemned the violence on Wednesday, with Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar describing the attacks as "illegal and unconstitutional."

Prime Minister "strongly condemned the reprehensible incident that took place in Faisalabad yesterday where churches were targeted," Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said on Thursday.

These actions are against the law and the constitution. Pakistan cannot tolerate such discriminatory and violent activities as a country of law and constitution, Baloch continued.

"Members of religious minorities are treated equally as citizens of the state. Pakistan, a multicultural and multireligious nation, is fully committed to upholding the rights and freedoms that are granted by the constitution, as well as to promoting social cohesion, tolerance, and respect for one another.

The reports, according to EU ambassador to Pakistan Riina Kionka, are "disturbing."

"The degree to which a society's minorities feel safe, in Pakistan, in the European Union, around the world, is a measure of respect for the rule of law, for tolerance of diversity, a core EU value," she said in a Wednesday post on X.

Blasphemy is a felony that carries a death sentence in some nations, including Pakistan.