The police blocked all routes of the Isa Nagri – housing over 500 Christian families.
Superintended of Police Bilal Sulehri, along with Mufti Muhammad Yunus Rizvi and a heavy contingent of police, reached the Cinema Chowk of the area and appealed to the mob to remain peaceful.
He assured that teams had been formed to arrest the blasphemy accused and a case would be registered against them. However, the mob remained adamant on “hanging the accused”.
The locals of the area accused the police of standing by as spectators as hundreds of people, armed with sticks and batons, vandalised the churches besides ransacking and even burning their homes.
Separate media outlets quoted the interim Punjab government officials as saying that more than “100 people have been arrested for their involvement in riots over the alleged blasphemy in Faisalabad’s Jaranwala during which members of the Christian community were targeted”.
Media reports stated that a mob of over 100 people set ablaze the Salvation Army Church, one of the oldest in the area. The United Presbyterian Church, Allied Foundation Church and Shehrunwala Church were also ransacked.
However, a statement issued by the interim Punjab government said: “A large mob of five to six thousand people gathered at various places of Jaranwala in different groups. They attempted to attack localities of a minority which was foiled by the police at various places. An attempt was made to damage various buildings which was pre-empted and countered by the police timely action.”
Rana Imran Jamil, a spokesperson for Rescue 1122, told AFP that four churches had been set on fire. A Christian cemetery was also vandalised, as well as the local government office, as crowds demanded action from the authorities.
