LAHORE – Two days after a mob burnt churches and houses in Pakistan’s Jaranwala, Punjab Police have arrested two Christian brothers accused of blasphemy.
A spokesperson for the Punjab Police blamed the two men for desecrating the Holy Quran.
Pages of the Holy Quran were found in a street with derogatory comments written on them in red, police said. One attached extra page also carried the names, addresses and national identity card numbers of the accused, provincial police chief Usman Anwar said.
He said that police were investigating all angles as to why the names and addresses would be attached. A court ordered the two suspects to be held in police custody for seven days for questioning, a government spokesperson said.
Blasphemy is punishable by death in Pakistan but no one has ever been executed. Numerous accused have been lynched by outraged mobs. A former provincial governor and a minister for minorities were shot dead for trying to reform the blasphemy law.
Rights groups say accusations of blasphemy are sometimes used to settle scores. Hundreds of people are languishing in prison after being accused because judges often put off trials, fearing retribution if they are seen as being lenient, they say.
Paramilitary troops have been guarding site of the arson attacks, a Christian settlement in Jaranwala in Faisalabad industrial district, which also includes the historical Salvation Army Church and Saint Paul Catholic Church.
