ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwar ul Haq Kakar will visit the affected areas of Faisalabad’s Jaranwala tehsil today (Monday).
The prime minister will be accompanied by interim Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi and other federal ministers.
Sources said the Federal Minister for Human Rights, Khalil George, has been mandated to facilitate the visit.
The supervising PM will also express solidarity with the Christian community and also announce compensation for the affected people.
A few days ago, an angry mob set fire to churches, several houses and vehicles over an alleged blasphemy incident.
The charged mob torched five churches and ransacked the residences of members of the Christian community. The group of angry people also destroyed the office of the local assistant commissioner following the alleged blasphemy incident in Jaranwala town of Faisalabad district on Wednesday.
The district administration has imposed Section 144, banning all kinds of gatherings, except events organized by the government.
Punjab administration after the incident formed a high-level inquiry to look into the incident, in line with the orders issued by the caretaker chief minister.
According to police officials, the violence took place after some locals claimed that several desecrated pages of the Quran were found near a house in Cinema Chowk in Jaranwala where two Christian brothers lived.
The rumour of the said act was mentioned on loudspeakers in the Jaranwala mosques and after the announcements from different mosques, people were incited and gave their reaction in burning down the Christian colony and the churches.
The situation became more volatile when members of Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) entered the fray, issuing public notices from mosques and other places and forcing people to reach the site of the alleged incident. A mob soon gathered outside the home of the two men – who had since evacuated – and set it on fire, sparking a series of violent incidents.
The Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC) and the International Council for Inter-Religious Harmony (IIHC) on Friday jointly observed a nationwide ‘condemnation day’ and condemned the shocking incidents of desecration of places of worship in Jaranwala.
Widespread outrage reverberated through mosques as religious leaders and scholars addressed Friday congregations.
The call for unity and justice resonated as Ulema and Mashaikh from different regions of the country condemned this heinous act.
