Christian woman torched in Punjab province

A Christian woman shows a charred Bible, written in Urdu, to the photographer outside her torched house in Gojra town located in Punjab province August 4, 2009.The call to hunt Christians launched at local mosque after the Friday prayers. The mob stormed and set fire to the church, ransacked two houses. Muslims accuse a young Christian had desecrated the Koran. In reality the young man is involved with a Muslim girl.
Sialkot (AsiaNews) - A church burnt by a mob of angry Muslims, who attacked Christians for a new - alleged - case of blasphemy. This is what happened yesterday afternoon in a village in Punjab, Pakistan, where the Christian community was targeted by Islamic extremists."The extremists were protesting against the desecration of the Quran by a young Christian from the village" Father Emmanuel Yousaf Mani, director of the Catholic Churches National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) refers to AsiaNews, "that is why they set fire to the church". The priest, who heard the eye witness accounts of the inhabitants, adds that "the place of worship is used by Catholics and Protestants".NCJP sources report that yesterday, at about 12:30 local time, a Muslim mob gathered round the village church in Jaithikey, not far from the city of Samberial in the district of Sialkot (Punjab). They first damaged the building, then set it on fire. The extremists also looted two houses adjoining the church.According to preliminary reports, the real cause of tension is a relationship between a twenty year old Christian, whose name is Fanish, and a Muslim girl. The young man was accused of having "provoked" the girl and "throwing away the Koran [the girl] had in her hands"."Muslims can not tolerate a Muslim girl falling in love with a Christian," says father Mani, confirming the news of the young man’s arrest this morning by police officers. "The authorities - adds the priest – will not allow access to journalists, to verify the events firsthand".A statement released by NCJP explains that "The tense situation precipitated following the end of Friday prayers," when a call to action "to give a lesson to the Christians" was launched from the mosque. Following the announcement, at least 35 families left the village for security reasons; others decided to remain in their homes anyway.The police reached the village, while the crowd of Muslims gathered, wiping themselves up into a frenzy over the - alleged - case of desecration of the Koran. In the evening, the extremists were driven from the homes of Christian villagers, but hundreds remained in the area, under police surveillance.Father Emmanuel Yousaf Mani, NCJP national director, Kamran Michael, the Provincial Minister for Human Rights and Minorities and Nelson Azeem, a member of the National Assembly (the parliament of Pakistan) arrived in Samerial and, in close contact with local government and police, are following the evolution of events.After the attack on Gojra in early August, in which seven people were killed, there is a real risk of a new massacre against the Christian community in the name of the blasphemy law.

Lahore tops violence against women in Punjab

SLAMABAD - At least 2,690 incidents of violence against women were reported in 36 districts of Punjab from January to June 2010 and Lahore took the lead with 458 such cases, said data available with Pakistan .The data added that other ten districts of the Punjab where intensity of violence remained high were Faisalabad with 393 cases, Sargodha with 161, Sheikhupura 157, Rawalpindi 139, Okara 134, Kasur 116, Sialkot 114, Sahiwal 88, Gujranwala 87, Jhang 76 and Multan 71 cases.Around 912 cases of abduction, 377 of rape and 373 cases of murder were reported out of the said cases while only 2,349 cases were registered in the respective police stations out of 2,690 cases, the data stated.The information further revealed that around 1,539 cases were registered in rural areas while the remaining occurred in urban areas of the Punjab during this tenure.Out of the total victimised women, 1,557 women were unmarried, 1,239 were married, 49 were widows and 41 were divorcees, the data said adding that 6 women were victimised in the province of Punjab on daily basis while 183 incidents of abduction were occurred in the district Lahore, 180 in Faisalabad, 69 in Sheikhupura and 68 cases in Sargodha and Rawalpindi district.Around 114 women became the target of violence over domestic dispute and 113 were murdered over allegedly illicit relations and in 115 cases, the accused were husbands, the data further stated.

Punjab cops allegedly thrash woman leading to still-birth

Women of Punjab - sorting potatoes in the field

It was barely four days ago that the Punjab Government's CrPC Amendment Act-2005 which prohibits Punjab Police from arresting women after sunset, was legislated. But the police allegedly not only apprehended a heavily pregnant woman after sunset but also gave her the third degree, due to which she aborted. In what might be termed as the murder of an unborn child, a female constable entered the 'labour room' of a hospital and started beating-up a nine-month pregnant Dalit woman, Raji, a resident of Kuttiwal village in Ajnala, Amritsar. Due to which Raji delivered a dead baby. Narrating her tale of woe, Raji alleged that there was a jewellery theft in the house of her landlord Dalbir Singh, who had named her brother, Jaspal Masih, as being responsible for it. He was a labourer at Dalbir's farm. - Sunil Kumar

7-Foot 2-Inch Pakistani Woman Seeks Asylum in Britain, Says Height Makes Her Target for Harassment

Bibi, 35, is a former holder of a world's tallest woman title and has asked to stay in Britain because she is afraid to return to Pakistan where she says youths threw stones at her, pulled at her clothing and she once broke her wrist after an attack.Zainab Bibi arrived in England two-and-a-half years ago and is awaiting a decision from the country's Home Office as to whether she will be granted political asylum.Despite her claims of abuse, some family members and friends in the impoverished Punjabi village of Mandi Rajana where Bibi was born, have suggested she was not a victim, but rather celebrated as a celebrity.Regardless, officials are expected to recommend that she should be allowed to remain in Britain, the newspaper reported.Bibi, who had a 2-year visitor's visa to Britain, made her claims of abuse during a 15-day promotional trip to the country in June 2006. After making the complaint, the country gave her an apartment in Stockport, England, and $58 a week in benefits.

Women at a village meeting in Punjab, Pakistan.

Pakistan leader may pardon Christian woman facing death

Pakistani Christian woman Asia Bibi, listens to Governor of Pakistani Punjab Province Salman Taseer, unseen, at a prison in Sheikhupura near Lahore, Pakistan,

Acid Terrorism' Against Women in pakistan

Shehnaz Usman, 36, poses for a photograph in Lahore, Pakistan, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2008. Shehnaz was burned with acid by a relative due to a familial dispute five years ago. Shehnaz has undergone plastic surgery 10 times to try to recover from her scars.

Acid Terrorism' Against Women in pakistan

Shameem Akhter, 18, poses for a photograph at her home in Jhang, Pakistan, Wednesday, July 10, 2008. Shameem was raped by three boys who then threw acid on her three years ago. Shameem has undergone plastic surgery 10 times to try to recover from her scars.

Acid Terrorism' Against Women in pakistan

Irum Saeed, 30, poses for a photograph at her office at the Urdu University of Islamabad, Pakistan, Thursday, July 24, 2008. Irum was burned on her face, back and shoulders twelve years ago when a boy whom she rejected for marriage threw acid on her in the middle of the street. She has undergone plastic surgery 25 times to try to recover from her scars.