Amnesty International Condemns Pakistan Over Jaranwala Church Attacks
Jaranwala, Pakistan, August 17: Amnesty International has criticized Pakistan for its treatment of religious minorities following the Jaranwala incident where 26 churches were burned by a mob. The human rights organization highlighted that over 90% of the suspects remain free, and trials have not started, leaving the Christian community in fear.
One Year Later
In a post on ‘X’, Amnesty International stated, “It has been a year since the arson and attacks on churches and Christian neighborhoods in Jaranwala, Pakistan. The victims continue to live in fear as the perpetrators of mob violence continue to evade accountability.”
The report criticized the Pakistani administration for failing to deliver justice and prevent further misuse of blasphemy laws. Many affected families are still awaiting government compensation and face ongoing threats and marginalization.
Calls for Justice
Amnesty International urged the Pakistan government to ensure justice and protect minority groups. Babu Ram Pant, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for South Asia, said, “Despite the authorities’ assurances of accountability, the grossly inadequate action has allowed a climate of impunity for the perpetrators of the Jaranwala violence.”
On August 3, 2024, a Right to Information Request revealed that of the 5,213 accused, 380 were arrested, with 4,833 still at large. Of those arrested, 228 are now out on bail, and 77 had charges dropped.
Continued Marginalization
The report also mentioned that many religious minorities have lost their jobs due to heightened tensions. Some Christian families have migrated to neighboring cities, while religious leaders who incited the mob still roam free.
Khalida Bano, a Christian woman from Jaranwala, stated, “We saw our houses in complete shambles. To date, we have received no support. It has been a year, and my husband is unemployed because no one hired him due to stigma.”
Samuel Payara, the lead petitioner for the Christian community, described a culture of impunity for violence against religious minorities. He noted that despite thousands being accused, only about 400 were arrested, and most roam free.
While trials against those accused of the mob violence have not started, a 27-year-old Christian man was sentenced to death in July 2024 for causing the riots through an allegedly blasphemous video on TikTok.
Doubts Revealed
Amnesty International -: Amnesty International is a group that works to protect people’s rights all over the world. They speak out when they see unfair treatment.
Condemns -: Condemns means to strongly disapprove or criticize something. In this case, Amnesty International is saying that what happened in Pakistan is very wrong.
Pakistan -: Pakistan is a country in South Asia, next to India. It has many different kinds of people and religions.
Jaranwala -: Jaranwala is a place in Pakistan where the bad incident happened. It’s a town in the Punjab province.
Church Attacks -: Church attacks mean that people did bad things to churches, like burning them. Churches are places where Christians go to pray.
Religious minorities -: Religious minorities are groups of people who follow a different religion than most people in a country. In Pakistan, Christians are a religious minority.
Mob -: A mob is a large group of people who are very angry and sometimes do violent things together.
Suspects -: Suspects are people who might have done something wrong, but it hasn’t been proven yet.
Trials -: Trials are meetings in court where it is decided if someone did something wrong or not.
Compensation -: Compensation is money or help given to people who have been hurt or lost something. It helps them recover.
Justice -: Justice means making sure that people are treated fairly and that wrong actions are punished.
Minority groups -: Minority groups are smaller groups of people who are different in some way from the majority, like having a different religion or culture.
