Christian leaders protest Jaranwala incident

LAHORE:A protest demonstration was held by the Pakistan Messiah Millat Party (PMMP) in front of the Lahore Press Club following the burning of churches and Christian settlements in Jaranwala.

Pakistan Messiah Millat Party Chairman Aslam Pervez Sahotra, central president of the party William Javed, Punjab president Liaquat Randhawa and Khadim Pervez addressed the protesters while international affairs head Shakeel Siddique addressed the participants online from Dubai. All of them strongly condemned the incident.

Aslam Pervez Sahotra said, ‘Poor Christians are being forced to leave their homes. They are being implicated in false cases in collusion with the police.’ Sahotra told The News that in Muzaffargarh district of South Punjab houses of Christian families were taken over. They had cultivated thousands of acres of barren land and were living there for 50 years.

The Pakistan Messiah Millat Party demanded the prime minister, the chief minister and the Chief Justice of Pakistan to expose all the secret characters involved in the Jaranwala tragedy and arrest the suspects.

They should be severely punished according to the law, and all over the country and especially in the villages of District Sheikhupura and Nankana Sahib, Narowal, Kasur, the evicted Christians should be resettled in their homes and the lands taken away from the Christian farmers in 2021 should be returned to them. Steps should be taken to give ownership rights, the party demanded.