LAHORE, Pakistan, January 31, 2020 (Morning Star News) – Maintaining their innocence, 39 Christians accused of killing two Muslims after 2015 church bombings in Pakistan reached an agreement to pay victim families in exchange for acquittal this week, sources said.
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Wednesday (Jan. 29), acquitted all 39 Christians and one Muslim accused in the killings that took place after Taliban suicide bombers attacked two churches in March 2015, killing at least 15 civilians and two policemen and wounding more than 70 others in the Youhanabad area of Lahore.
“The five years that I spent in jail cannot be described in words – there were times when I had lost hope of seeing my family,” Irfan Bashir Masih, one of the acquitted, told Morning Star News. “I was not even present at the scene when the two Muslim youths were burned alive, yet I was involved in the case by the police like many other innocent people of my locality.”
He said that the acquittals in the “false case” had reinforced his faith in Christ.
“I belong to a very poor family and had no hope of being with them again,” he said. “I am happy that I’m back with my family and look forward to starting my life afresh.”
Masih confirmed media reports that a public prosecutor had offered the accused freedom if they converted to Islam. In May 2017 Lahore Deputy District Public…
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