Punjab: Muslim-Christian tensions over a murder. Dialogue brings peace and harmony
Faisalabad (AsiaNews) -
The dialogue and mediation of local leaders and government officials have restored
peace and harmony between the Muslim majority and Christian minority in
Pakistan, but for several days a Punjab village lived in fear of an escalation
of violence that threatened to turn into a veritable manhunt. Tensions flared following
a robbery which resulted in a double murder committed by a young Christian long
known to authorities for relatively minor offenses and robbery. The
intervention of religious and political personalities was successful in
bringing the guilty to justice, avoiding a whole community paying the price for
his crime. An episode that, according to a priest, is symbolic because it shows
that "social issues should never be turned into conflict with a religious
background."
The facts date back to mid-April the 16th, when a young man known to police for
theft of cattle, Boota Masih of 26 years - son of Ishaq, a Christian family
from the colony Kamalia, sub-district of Toba Tek Singh (Punjab) - had stolen a
goat. The animal belonged to Muhammad Shafi, a resident of Islampura, and was
kept near the house.
On discovering the theft, the man along with four people chased Masih to retrieve
the goat. Surprised by the group, the thief responded with a knife, fatally
wounding Muhammad Shafi: he died instantly. The other band members were
injured, in particular, one of them was hospitalized in a critical condition.
Later, the intervention of local residents allowed the capture of the thief, whom
they attacked with stones before being handed over to the police that same day,
who opened a file against him . On April 18 the position of the young Christian
worsened due to the death in hospital
of Nisar Ahmad also
struck by the blows in an attempt to block Masih in the moments after the
theft. The death of Nisar sparked the anger of the Muslim community, which staged
protests against the Masih family and Christians in the area. Almost all the
residents of the colony fled their homes in fear of violent reprisals. The
authorities deployed police in an attempt to avert an escalation of violence.
In recent days, however, the mediation of political and religious leaders has
helped to restore peace and harmony. In particular, the Christian community has
promoted special prayers to commemorate those Muslims killed, sympathizing with
their families and promoting the path of peaceful coexistence between majority
and minority. They also demanded "exemplary punishment" for the
guilty, he must pay "under the law" for the crime committed.
Speaking to AsiaNews, the activist
and expert on social issues Ashraf Masih confirms that "Boota Masih is a
habitual drug addict and thief" who often sparked clashes and tensions over
"small thefts". He expressed the strongest condemnation of the
incident and expresses his solidarity with the families of those killed and
injured, "the entire Christian community in the area - he adds - wishes to
thank the city administration, it has been able to maintain the calm and
restore peace ". This is echoed Fr. Khalid Rasheed Asi, vicar general of
the diocese of Faisalabad,
according to whom "social issues should not be transformed into problems
of a confessional nature" in order to maintain a"peaceful
coexistence". He concludes: "The whole community should not become a
target for the sins of an individual."
.png)
