Attacks on churches, vandalism-arson on suspicion of blasphemy, Pakistan police deployed in security of Christian colony

Security measures were stepped up in Christian neighborhoods in Pakistan on Thursday after hundreds of Muslim men accused of blasphemy burned and vandalized churches and homes a day earlier. Violence broke out in Jaranwala, on the outskirts of the industrial city of Faisalabad, after allegations were spread that Christians had desecrated the Quran. Violent mobs forced families to flee their homes.

Hundreds of police were deployed to the area, including the main Salvation Army Church, which was gutted by fire. Its walls and windows had turned black due to the fire. The day before rioters had hammered the cross on top of the church until it fell apart, with the crowd below also chanting religious slogans. Fayaz Masih Khokhar, a Christian from nearby Lahore, told AFP that all Christians had left their homes and taken shelter here and there. We are here to visit family members and show solidarity with our community. They burned our churches, our Bibles, attacked our homes.

A police officer at the scene told AFP that at least four churches and seven homes were attacked. A spokesman for the Punjab provincial government said more than 100 people had been arrested, with police looking to arrest those accused of desecrating the Muslim holy book. Pictures on social media showed crowds of hundreds armed with sticks and stones in the streets, with smoke billowing from badly damaged church buildings. Yasir Bhatti, a 31-year-old Christian, fled his home in a narrow lane next to a church which was ransacked by a mob.