Video's of Lahore riot, local politicians lead mob

Please sign our petition for Badami Bagh:

(Click here)


Once again, it appears that greed for land was a factor behind the burning of Christian homes.  Local Christians report that the organized mob, as well as being stoked by religious extremists in a blatantly pre-planned exercise, were mostly factory workers from a nearby iron factory whose influential owners, they believe, want to seize the land that the Christians of Joseph Colony, Lahore.

The attacks were an out and out act of economic genocide, a pattern we have seen in a number of incidents over the last several decades.  For a start, the houses were burned after the alleged 'blasphemer' was taken into custody.  Secondly, leading members of a Muslim political party with strong links to violent extremists were seen leading the mob on Friday.  Thirdly, they systematically looted and defrauded the Christians of their hard-earned savings and property, dowry's and the like, deliberately targeting the Christians' tools of trade, so they can no longer make a living, as well as burning their houses, and also throwing Christian's goats into the fire to be burned alive.

The police did not attempt to stop the mobs, but did open fire with live rounds and tear gas on the Christians who protested.  This happened, not only in Lahore, but also in Karachi, where the beleaguered Christians of Essa Nagri and other areas protested about the incident.  The police in Karachi fired on Christians, allegedly because a few protesters had been damaging shops and cars, and the police wanted to protect a market, but soon after, according to eyewitnesses, men poured out of the market armed with sticks and stones and started brutally beating all the Christian protesters, regardless of whether they had vandalized anything or not.  For video of the police opening fire and teargassing these Christians, see here.

Members of Pakistan's Shia community have put together this video in solidarity with Pakistani Christians over the incident.



You can also watch video of the actual incident here and below :

Other sources : 1 and 2, and facebook comments from Christian photo journalist on the scene at the Karachi  protest.