Hundreds of Christian families fled their homes in a village near Lahore, Pakistan yesterday after Muslim protestors called for the death of a young Christian accused of blasphemy, sources said.
Patras Masih, an 18-year-old resident of Dher village in Shahdara Town area of Lahore, was taken into police custody late Monday night (Feb. 19) after a day of protests led by the Muslim extremist Tehreek Labbaik Ya Rasool Allah (TLYR) and other Islamist parties. The protestors threatened to burn down the homes of at least 700 poor Christian families, area residents said.
Several hundred protestors blocked a main highway, burned tires and chanted slogans calling for Masih’s death, they said. Telling police they would burn down Christians’ homes if Masih were not arrested, the protestors dispersed only after the local police chief assured them that the accused had been arrested and charged with blasphemy, sources said.
The accused’s father, Indreyas Masih, told Morning Star News by phone from an undisclosed location that he was at his job as a driver with the Water and Sanitation Agency when he heard about the protests.
“I was on duty when I received a phone call from my family that announcements are being made from mosque loudspeakers that my son Patras has committed blasphemy and should be punished for his crime,” he said. “I was…
… Read More
Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.