The assailants, who were armed with guns, clubs, iron rods and firearms left some eight Christians injured including two women including Gulzaran Bibi and Robeela.

“The Christians were preparing for the evening meeting when they were attacked at 5:00 pm”, Tahir confided in ANS.

“The attack sent a wave of fear and uncertainty among some 30 Christian families of the predominantly Muslim village. The mob also allegedly desecrated holy books placed in the Church. They also tore the posters advertising the meeting to express their ‘anger’”, he said.
He said the situation had forced several Christian residents to flee the village to safety.

Sandhu regretted that the Police did not add section 7 of Anti Terrorism Act in their First Information Report, adding that the Police also did not include section 452 of Pakistan Penal Code.

He argued that since the armed accused had made forcible entry into Sardar’s house therefore section 452 should have been included in the FIR. He also took an exception to the absence of section 295-A of Pakistan Penal Code in the Police FIR.

“I cannot fathom why the Police have not included the section when the accused have desecrated the holy books placed in the Church,” said Sandhu.

He said he would try to get the FIR filed by the Muslims against the Christians quashed.

He told ANS that the accused instead lodged a Police report against the Christian residents of the village wherein they have alleged that the Christians have rendered two Muslims injured.

“They [the Muslims] produced fake medical reports. The FIR is fabricated and baseless”, he insisted.

He alleged that the doctor at the hospital discriminated against the Christian residents. He informed that the injured Christians were rushed to Allied Hospital Faisalabad but they were denied treatment there. The poor Christians he said were forced to leave the hospital on June 17, Sunday night.

The medical examination of the injured he said was then conducted at Dijkot hospital.

Sandhu expressed his dissatisfaction over the medical examination of some 5 injured Christians including Shahbaz Masih’s.

“The medical examination does not reveal his fractured bones,” he alleged.

Reply to a question, he said that the Muslims were pressuring the Christian residents for a “compromise”. Sandhu said he would like the accused to first confess their act of attacking the Church and desecrating the holy books in writing.

He ruled out any compromise until the accused party made admission of their guilt in writing.

When ANS asked what would have been the situation if Christians had committed sacrilege and attacked Muslims, Sandhu said that he feared that the angry Muslims would not have hesitated to kill the Christians. “It would have triggered hate campaign against Christians across the country”, he added.

Christian Nursing students absolved of blasphemy charges

Khalil Tahir Sandhu said the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) committee that was probing the blasphemy charges leveled against four Christian nursing students has acquitted them of the blasphemy charges after interrogating them.

Sandhu claimed he also attended the committee’s meeting. He said that the unidentified people had been named in the FIR.

When the Christian nursing students were questioned by the committee it transpired that they had not committed blasphemy so the committee acquitted them of the charges, he said.