TOBA TEK SINGH: The first anniversary of the Jaranwala riots was observed on Friday with a commemorative gathering in Faisalabad.
Among the attendees were Bishop Inderyas Rehmat of Faisalabad, DC Capt (ret.) Nadeem Nasir, CPO Kamran Adil, and several Christian leaders, including Pastors Billy Graham, Javed Bhatti, Naveed Mukhtar, and Fr. Salman Maseeh.
Also present were Assistant Commissioner Safdar Shabbir, SP Abid Zafar, and Muslim scholar Allama Sikandar Zaki.
During the event, speakers highlighted the collaborative efforts of Muslim and minority leaders to restore harmony in Jaranwala following the violent attacks on houses and churches triggered by an alleged desecration of the Quran. They commended the government’s swift response in resettling displaced minority families and providing them with financial aid.
Both the DC and CPO visited affected churches and localities to show their support.
Despite these efforts, Akmal Bhatti, central chairman of Minorities Alliance Pakistan (MAP), criticized the government for failing to deliver justice to the victims even after a year.
Bhatti claimed that 99% of the suspects involved in the Jaranwala incident remain free. He detailed that 26 churches were burned, and thousands of copies of the Holy Bible were destroyed.
Although hundreds of suspects were initially arrested, Bhatti stated that most were later released, leaving only 11 out of 303 individuals jailed. This, he argued, has led to a sense of disillusionment among the Christian community regarding the effectiveness of the judicial response to the tragedy.
