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December 29, 2005
Pakistan: Muslims Threaten Christians With Death In Sangla Hill
We reported on December 23 of a tentative peace agreement which had been made between Muslim and Christian representatives in Sangla Hill. This area had been the scene of riots which happened on November 12 when a mob of 1,500 Muslims descended on the Christian community and destroyed three churches, including a Catholic and a Protestant house of worship, a school, a youth hostel, a nunnery and two homes belonging to Protestant priests.
The riots had followed unsubstantiated reports that a Christian, Yousaf Masseh, had burned pages from the Koran. He is now in custody, accused of blasphemy under Section 295 B of Pakistan's penal code, and could receive the death sentence. It is widely claimed that the accusations were created by two individuals who had lost at gambling, and found a way to avoid payment.
Unfortunately, the peace deal which we described before Christmas appears to be breaking down, and telephone death threats have been sent to three Christian community leaders, states Asia News.it.
The threats, which have been traced to a public phone box in Faisalabad, claim to come from a member of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, an extremist Islamist group. The calls were received by Saqib Sohail Batti, a general councillor at Sangla Hill, by Fr Samson Dilawar, a Catholic priest, and the Rev Tajmal Perves.
"If you don't accept our deal in two days, then get ready to die," are the words said by the caller. The phone messages were made n December 27. But the terms of this "deal" appear to be vague.
"Making a deal with them might mean peace, but the culprits would then still be free. If we give in, they won't be punished for what they did. We are really scared and are held up in our homes," Saqib Sohail Batti said. He said the police had done nothing to prevent November 12's attacks. He claimed police had been warned before the event took place.
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi was formed in 1996 by a breakaway section of the Sipah-e-Sahaba, a Sunni extremist group, which was designated by the US government in January 2003 as a "Foreign Terrorist Organisation under US law". It is a Deoband movement, and aims to create an Islamic Sharia-based state in Pakistan, which will be established by violent means.
It was this group which kidnapped and decapitated US journalist Daniel Pearl in January 2002.
Keywords: Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Lashkar-i Jhangvi
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at December 29, 2005 6:15 PM
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