Christians in a Pakistani village are living in fear of imminent attacks from radicals who stormed a church established before Partition and asked Muslims to be ready for a 'final attack' on the minority community.
ISLAMABAD: Christians in a Pakistani village are living in fear of imminent attacks from radicals who stormed a church established before Partition and asked Muslims to be ready for a 'final attack' on the minority community.
Christian residents of Hadyara village on the outskirts of Lahore fear their church will be razed by Muslims angry that Christian prayers were aired by loudspeakers during Fajr prayers on Wednesday.
Villagers belonging to the minority community said men armed with steel bars and guns stormed the New Apostolic Church, established before the Partition of the Indian subcontinent.
The radicals beat up worshippers, including a child, and damaged properties of the church. Members of the minority community said that announcements were made through mosque loudspeakers asking Muslims from nearby villages to be ready for a 'final attack'.
Other announcements urged businesses and farmers not to allow Christians on to their properties.
Fear of future attacks on the community has forced the authorities to dispatch more policemen to Hadyara on Wednesday, the Daily Times newspaper reported on Thursday.
The Human Liberation Commission of Pakistan has flayed the incident and urged police officials to protect the Christians.
Islamist militants in Pakistan have regularly threatened to kill Christian clerics in Southern Punjab's Khanewal district if they did not 'embrace Islam and stop preaching Christianity.'
On June 12 Christians in Shantinagar village had received anonymous letters written in Urdu asking them convert to Islam or leave the area.
Shantinagar village, which has about 3,000 Christians and 500 Muslim residents, was formed by the Salvation Army Church before the Partition of the sub-continent in 1947.
Demanding equal opportunities 'as promised' by Pakistan founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah, minority organizations in August had sought a ban on forced conversions and repeal of the stringent blasphemy laws in the Islamic country.
At a congregation held at Minar-i-Pakistan to mark the 'Minorities Day,' All Pakistan Minorities Alliance had unveiled a Charter of Demands (COD) including a law to end the practice of converting people by 'kidnapping and blackmailing'.
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