Two Christian families in Sargodha ‘rescued’ from charged mob: police
Two Christian families were rescued from an enraged mob who had gathered outside their houses in Sargodha on Saturday, a police official said.
Sargodha District Police Officer Asad Ejaz Malhi confirmed to Dawn.com that the incident occurred in Sargodha’s Mujahid Colony today over alleged desecration, but stressed that a large contingent of police was deployed in the district and that there have been no fatalities.
According to DPO Malhi, when the police reached the scene, they saw the mob crowding outside houses. The police cordonned off two houses in the colony and safely recovered all the residents, he said.
The police officer added that extra contingents of police were deployed in various areas of the city for the safety of Christian community.
“The police peacefully dispersed all the people gathered outside the Christian families’ houses,” DPO Malhi said.
Unverified footage on social media showed a mob surrounding an injured man and separate videos showing men, some of whom appeared to be teenagers, wrecking furniture outside a house. A separate video shot from another angle showed a blaze of what appeared to be furniture.
While asked about the videos making the rounds on social media, DPO Malhi said that these were “fake videos” and insisted that no one was hurt in Sargodha district. “Police is maintaining law and order,” he added.
The official said that a “district peace committee” was called to evaluate the situation and issue statement on the matter. The district committee includes the district administration, religious scholars of Muslim and minority community, he added. He said the Christian community will also be issuing a statement.
While answering a query on the suspect, DPO Malhi said he could not yet confirm whether the alleged incident took place but the police have taken the person in custody and further investigation is under way.
Mohsin Malhi, a resident of Sargodha, told Dawn.com that two houses and a factory were sent on fire.
The incident brought back memories of the harrowing incident in Jaranwala in August last year, where a mob rampaged through a Christian neighbourhood and torched dozens of houses and churches.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said it was “seriously concerned by the unfolding situation in Sargodha, “where the Christian community in Gillwala village is reportedly at grave risk to their lives at the hands of charged mobs”. “There are unconfirmed reports of a man having been allegedly lynched,” it said in a post on X.
The HRCP urged the Punjab Police and district administration to “immediately restore calm and bring the perpetrators to book while ensuring that the Christian community comes to no further harm”.
Human rights lawyer and politician Jibran Nasir saw the parallels in this latest incident to the one in Jaranwala, saying it was “another Jaranwala style attack on Christians in Sargodha with [a] mob attacking local community, burning and ransacking property”.
Taking to X, he denounced the “failure of the State to take any serious and sincere action against perpetrators of the Jaranwala incident” and how it “has only emboldened those who exploit religious sentiments for their criminal acts”.
Nasir also said representatives of the Christian community in Karachi, along with fellow members for civil society, have called a protest today at Karachi Press Club at 3:45pm.
Sargodha DPO says there are no fatalities, and the videos making the rounds on social media are "fake".
www.dawn.com
