Aaj English TV

Saturday, November 23, 2024  
20 Jumada Al-Awwal 1446  

Victims recall horrific events of Jaranwala riots on Spot Light

They claim the mob looted them of all their belongings

“There were no shoes on our feet and my sister-in-laws escaped the house in t-shirts and trousers. They [mob] did not spare anything – our jewellery and money,” Roohi Waqas said while recalling the events that led to the destruction of Christian community places in Jaranwala.

“My children are frightened to the extent that they refused to come with me. I left them with my aunt,” Roohi told Munizae Jahangir who visited Christian Colony in Jaranwala in the Aaj TV show Spot Light.

“I have been living here for around nine years after my marriage. My in-laws have spent their childhood here. They were raised in this colony and their children are also residents of this area,” she added.

Violent mobs on August 16 vandalised multiple churches and attacked homes belonging to the Christian community after the Holy Quran was allegedly desecrated in Jaranwala town of Faisalabad district of Punjab.

Father Khalid Mukhtar said that he had met the local Aman Committee which also includes Islamic religious scholars before the violent mob attacked the Christian community’s houses and places of worship.

“Around 9 am, I went to the police station and requested SSP Sulehri to apprehend the criminal and we will help him in doing so. He promised me that he will not take action against the Christian community,” he added.

He claimed that the Christian community had no representation in the local Aman Committee.

Read: Friday’s sermons in Punjab to focus on minorities’ rights, says Naqvi after Jaranwala violence

“I found out about the committee when I went to the police station that day. I did not find any Christian in the committee meeting,” he said.

“A protest was organised at around 9:45 am and the mob went out of control. They first infiltrated this colony and started torching houses and throwing things out in the open,” he said.

Talking about the caretaker chief minister’s announcement of disbursing Rs2 million to the victims, Mukhtar said that interim CM Mohsin Naqvi did not visit Christian Colony, the most affected area in the riots.

“I have met people who told me that their homes were not surveyed. The people whose houses were not surveyed will not get money?” he added.

Perveen Naz, another Christian woman was woken up by her children in the morning after they heard the mob screaming.

“The mob gathered outside our homes. We did not know what to do. We thought to just save our lives and children and escaped from our homes. They looted all of our belongings and broke what was left,” she said.

She said that they are now residing in a public school as their homes have been destroyed by the violent mob.

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