o convictions have resulted for the mob attacks in August 2023 in which several churches were burned and many homes were destroyed in Jaranwala.

Nearly two year after the devastating mob violence targeting the Christian community in Jaranwala, on August 16, 2023, there have been no convictions despite the scale of destruction and arrests.

Soon after the attacks, Faisalabad Police had registered 22 first information reports (FIRs) against 142 nominated suspects and over 5,071 unidentified people for their role in the burning and vandalism of churches and destruction of the homes belonging to their Christian neighbours.

Recently, an Anti-Terrorism Court in Faisalabad acquitted ten of the people accused of setting fire to a church in Chak 651/2 GB. The acquitted include Ausaf Ali, his sons Shamoon Ali and Saleem Ali, Usama Akbar, Muhammad Idrees, Atif Hussain, Muhammad Nadeem, Muhammad Azam and Muhammad Ashraf. In its judgment, the court observed that the prosecution had failed to prove the allegations against the accused.

Akmal Bhatti, counsel for the church management and chairman of the Minorities Alliance, Pakistan, blames the police investigation, calling it ‘opaque and deliberately flawed.’ He says key evidence, including the testimony of Rafique Masih, whose home was torched along with the church, was ignored. According to Bhatti, Rafique had recognised the accused during a jail identification parade.

Bhatti says that the detailed judgment is awaited. Once it is received, he says, he will file an appeal before the High Court. He says three other related cases are still under trial.

Faisalabad Police spokesperson Muhammad Tariq says that the department is continuing its efforts to arrest and prosecute those responsible for the violence. He mentions that SHO Lundianwala and his team have recently apprehended a key suspect, Saleem. Saleem was wanted for allegedly torching a church and clashing with police officers during the unrest. He had been declared an absconder in FIR No. 467/23 under Sections 295, 148, 149, 186, 427, 436, 353 of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

According to the police spokesman, a special task force had been looking for Saleem, who is now in custody. He says legal proceedings against the accused have begun.

The Jaranwala tragedy, which unfolded from August 16 to 18, 2023, saw at least 26 churches torched and more than 80 Christian homes attacked. The violence erupted after local Muslims accused a Christian man of desecrating the Holy Quran. A viral video message, amplified via mosque loudspeakers, claimed that torn pages of Holy Quran had been found near a church. This sparked outrage that led to mob attacks.

Despite police claims, the victims of the Jaranwala incident are losing faith in the administration’s ability and willingness to protect the minority community and ensure accountability.

Samuel Pyara, chairman of Implementation of Minority Rights Forum has been waging a legal battle since 2023 to seek justice for the victims of the Jaranwala tragedy. He alleges that it was due to poor police performance that most of the accused had secured bail.

“Even Yaseen, the man who incited the mob through loudspeaker announcements, has been granted bail,” Pyara said. “Another key accused, Irfan Younas, who used a crane to demolish churches, managed to secure bail. However, we successfully challenged it in the High Court and a division bench has now dismissed his appeal.”

Pyara also pointed out discrimination against two brothers whose homes were the first to be attacked under false blasphemy allegations despite their proven innocence. The administration excluded them from the list of victims and still bars them from returning to their homes.

He raises concern over the police’s apparent unwillingness to arrest high-profile suspects named in the Special Branch intelligence reports, including a former provincial assembly candidate of Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan. Despite clear video evidence and witness testimonies, Pyara says, the police were refusing to arrest several nominated suspects. He says this has led to insecurity among the local Christian population.

According to Pyara, 26 churches and 148 homes were attacked in the August 16, 2023 violence. He says the district administration has rehabilitated 19 churches and paid compensation to around 80 households. “There was no formal damage assessment. Nor were members of the affected community included in the compensation committee,” he says.

He criticises the lack of transparency in the distribution of aid: “The government claimed to have paid Rs 2 million to each affected household. However, many houses had accommodated three or four families. Compensation should have reflected that reality.”

Pyara says that 25 individuals who filed FIRs for theft during the riots had received no compensation. Also, three Christians acquitted in the investigation were denied financial assistance.

He also points out discrimination against two brothers whose homes were the first to be attacked under false blasphemy allegations despite their proven innocence. The administration, he says, excluded them from the list of victims and still bars them from returning to their homes.

“Despite clear orders from the one-man judicial commission and the additional chief secretary, no serious efforts have been made to apprehend key perpetrators or compensate all affected people. Many of the victims continue to receive threats, while many who desecrated the churches and the bible are being acquitted,” Pyara complained.

Findings of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan support his concerns. HRCP’s fact-finding report on Jaranwala confirmed that some TLP leaders and activists were involved in inciting and participating in the violence. It also highlighted how personal disputes led to escalation into religiously motivated attacks. It says the police failed to intervene effectively.

A more recent HRCP report on freedom of religion or belief says that at least 16 people were killed in faith-based violence between 2023 and June 2025. A majority of these incidents took place in the Punjab.

The Centre for Social Justice’s Human Rights Observer 2025 notes a rise in blasphemy accusations. In 2023, 329 individuals were accused under blasphemy laws; in 2024, the number rose to 344. Of these, 70 percent were Muslims, 14 percent Ahmadis, 9 percent Hindus and 6 percent Christians.

These figures paint a grim picture. The religious minorities not only face the threat of mob violence but also struggle to receive justice as the system is plagued by discrimination, weak law enforcement and lack of political will.

The failure to deliver justice for the Jaranwala victims reflects deeper structural issues in Pakistan’s legal and law enforcement systems. As communities continue to grapple with trauma, unanswered questions and broken promises, the impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators exacerbates the marginalisation of religious minorities.

Without urgent reforms, accountability and political will, such tragedies risk recurrence, further undermining the rule of law and eroding public trust in the state’s ability to protect its most vulnerable citizens.

The contributor has been associated with journalism for the past decade. He tweets @naeemahmad876