At least seven Christians have been killed and 40 homes torched in mob violence in Pakistan on Saturday
Coffins containing the bodies of Pakistani Christians who had been burned to death in mob violence were laid across a main railway line in protest on Sunday.
Attacks on Saturday in Gojra, Punjab province, left seven dead and 40 homes burned, following an alleged incident of desecration of the Qur’an during a wedding ceremony.
Christians made the coffin protest before conducting funeral services on Sunday.
On Monday the Rev Dr Samuel Kobia, general secretary of the World Council of Churches, wrote to the President of Pakistan in protest, saying the deaths could have been avoided if police and security forces had acted quickly.
The attacks, the third case in two months in Punjab province, confirmed “the fear that the government is constantly failing to protect its citizens who frequently face attack by militant Islamic groups,” wrote Dr Kobia.
CMS correspondents suggest the death toll could be as high as nine, including young children, with as many as 70 homes destroyed. Other sources report eight as the total number killed.
According to Pakistan’s Dawn news service, 65 people have so far been arrested for their part in the attacks.
The federal minister for minorities, Shahbaz Bhatti, said there was no truth in the allegations of desecrating the Qur’an.
In his letter to President Zardari, Dr Kobia also draws attention to the way the blasphemy laws in Pakistan are frequently “used as an excuse to victimize the minority Christians in your nation.”
The full text of Dr Kobia’s letter can be read
here