Dozens Arrested in Pakistan over Church Attacks – Times of India

ISLAMABAD: Dozens have been arrested for Pakistan‘s Punjab Province following mob attacks on Christian-owned churches and homes over alleged desecration of the Holy Quran by two members of the minority community, authorities said Thursday.

The authorities deployed paramilitary troops to restore order in Jaranwala, Faisalabad district, where the alleged desecration took place.
There were no casualties as the Christians living in the area had moved to safer places together with their families. They started to return to their homes on Thursday, only to see the destruction. While the main church it was destroyed, four other churches were damaged. Two dozen houses were burned down or badly damaged during the riots.

The attacks unfolded on Wednesday as mobs raged over accusations that two Christians had desecrated the Koran. “This was a well-thought-out plan to disturb the peace and a high-level investigation is underway into the desecration of the Holy Quran and subsequent incidents,” a Punjab government spokesperson said in a statement.
The Punjab government ordered the formation of a high-level investigative committee following the directives of acting Prime Minister Anwar-Ul-Haq Kakar. Police said they had arrested more than 100 people and booked more than 600.
“The frequency and scale of such attacks, which are systematic, violent and often uncontrollable, appear to have increased in recent years,” the Pakistan Human Rights Commission said.
One of the worst spasms of religious violence in Pakistan occurred in 2009 when a mob burned down some 60 houses and killed six Christians in the Gojra district of Punjab after accusing them of “insulting Islam.”