Attack on the Christian community in broad daylight is a flagrant failure of the Punjab government
The Founder and Leader of Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) Mr Altaf Hussain has strongly condemned the attack on a residential colony of the Christian community in Lahore and burning of their properties. He termed the incident a flagrant failure of the Punjab government. He also expressed complete solidarity and sympathies to the Christian family on the outrageous incident.
Mr Hussain said that the Christian community was attacked in a similar incident in Gojra town in the Punjab province. A Church was burned down and houses of people belonging to the Christian community were set on fire. The same history has been repeated today in the Badami Bagh Noor Mohalla of Lahore.
Mr Hussain asked what the rulers, administration, police and law-enforcing agencies were doing when hundreds of houses were being burnt in Lahore in broad daylight. He asked why the attackers could not be stopped.
Mr Hussain said that every Muslim considers it his duty to protect the honour of the Prophet (PBUH). He wanted to know if Islam gave the permission to attack a colony of the Christian community on the bases of allegations levelled by an individual.
Mr Hussain said that the state of Pakistan was passing through a difficult phase of its existence. Questions were being raised in international magazines, newspapers, think-tanks about the future of Pakistan by terming it a country that espouse. He said that the tragic incident in Lahore soon after the tragedies in Quetta and Abbas Town was a cause of grave concern.
Mr Hussain said that the attack on the Christian community in Lahore would bring Pakistan a bad name in the world. Just as it would unlawful, unethical and inhuman to blame all the Muslims for the fault of a few individuals, in the same manner it would be illegal to target the Christian community as a whole because of fault of one Christian.
Mr Hussain said that Islam gives us the message of peace and what happened in Lahore is completely against the teachings of Islam. Some people acted as a complainant and a judge in their own right and the unabashed manner in which the Punjab government has abdicated its responsibility to protect the people has brought shame to us all.
Mr Hussain demanded that the people involved in this outrageous attack should be arrested and given exemplary punishment according to the law. He said that security should be provided to all religious minorities the affected Christian families in Lahore should be compensated by the government.