OKARA: A mob of more than 200 people attacked a Christian village in Okara district of Punjab after a quarrel over a minor dispute.
The incident occurred on May 15 in Chak No 5 village as fear grips the area housing more than 80 Christian families. A quarrel started between some young Christians who cleaned the entrance to their church and a Muslim man passing by. This was followed by a raid as several Christian men and women were beaten with iron bars, houses invaded, furniture destroyed and property stolen.
According to reports, Asad Imran, Emmanuel and Shahzad Masih were cleaning the area in front of the church gate. Muhammad Khalil was driving his motorcycle and railed at them after they spoiled his suit with dust and water and threatened them with consequences.
After a few minutes, he arrived with his friends armed with firearms and hockey sticks and attacked Imran, who suffered several injuries to his left hand, a broken finger. Emmanuel received injuries to his right shoulder, knee and back while Shahroz was hit in the head and back.
The next day, a huge crowd arrived on the scene and attacked 80 other houses belonging to minority Christians. A Christian Mangta Masih, who was also tortured in the incident, filed a complaint against the perpetrators at the Okara police station.
The parish priest, Fr. Khalid Mukhtar, spread the news on social media, defining the beating against Christian families as a “terrorist attack” in which men and women were savagely beaten.
Aslam Pervaiz Sohotra, president of the Masiha Milat Party, condemned the attack and expressed concern that tthe police have not yet arrested the perpetrators. He compared the attack on Okara with the incidents in Shanti Nagar, Joseph Colony, Sangla Hill, where Christian villages were attacked and burned.
