Pak court acquits 10 Muslim men in church arson case due to lack of evidence

Lahore, Jun 5 (PTI) An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan has acquitted 10 Muslim men, including the primary suspect, in connection with the arson attacks on churches and Christian homes in Punjab province in 2023, citing lack of evidence.

The verdict, delivered by Judge Javed Iqbal Sheikh of the Anti-Terrorism Court in Faisalabad on Wednesday, comes nearly two years after the August 2023 incident, where mobs vandalised and set ablaze over 20 churches and more than 80 Christian residences in Jaranwala, some 130 km from Lahore, in Faisalabad district following false allegations of blasphemy against two Christian brothers.

The Church Management Committee of Jaranwala has expressed strong dissatisfaction with the verdict, alleging that police investigators played a "dubious role" by manipulating evidence to benefit the accused. The committee plans to file an appeal against the "unjust verdict" in the Lahore High Court.

"On Wednesday, ATC Faisalabad Judge Javed Iqbal Sheikh acquitted 10 Muslim accused involved in burning churches and houses of Christians in Jaranwala on August 16, 2023 after the prosecution failed to prove the charges against them," a court official said on Thursday.

The judge acquitted the main suspect, Ausaf Ali, his two sons, and seven others -- Muhammad Azam, Osama Akbar, Muhammad Idrees, Atif Hussain, Muhammad Nadeem, and Muhammad Ashraf -- due to lack of evidence against them, the official said.

In April, the same court sentenced a Christian man, Pervez Masih, to death for committing blasphemy and implicating two fellow Christian brothers Amer and Umair Masih in a false blasphemy case that led to the Jaranwala riots.

After the Jaranwala riot, police had arrested Amer and Umair. Masih had admitted in the court that he had framed the brother-duo due to personal enmity. Both brothers were later acquitted after investigations proved their innocence.

"Police investigators failed to conduct a transparent probe. They intentionally ignored solid evidence against the suspects," the Church Management Committee's counsel Akmal Bhatti Bhatti said.

He emphasised that one of the victims had identified all 10 acquitted individuals during a jail identification parade, a fact that was seemingly disregarded by the court.

"We will challenge this verdict in the LHC," Bhatti said.

According to data obtained by Amnesty International through a Right to Information request, out of 5,213 suspects identified in the Jaranwala incident, only 380 were arrested, with 4,833 still at large. Of those arrested, 228 have been released on bail, and charges against 77 have been dropped.

The human rights organisation said that around 40 per cent of the minority Christian families affected by the Jaranwala violence are still awaiting government compensation. PTI MZ SCY SCY