Pakistan: bulldozers demolish church

The Christian community of Multan has protested against the demolition of a church by a fertilizer industry that wants to “expand”. A nearby mosque was spared.

Multan (AsiaNews) – The Christian community of Multan in the central province of Punjab has protested against the allegedly illegal demolition of a church. According to local media, on 4 August, around 150 Christians protested against the Pak-Arab Fertilizers Limited factory that razed a Protestant church to the ground. The protesters blocked the Multan-Lahore road for a couple of hours after burning used tyres. They were demanding the opening of a judicial inquiry against the ‘culprits’.

Shahbaz Bhatti, chairman of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA), condemned the “brutal” demolition of the church and demanded stern legal action against those responsible. Bhatti said the court was on the point of issuing an order not to go ahead with the demolition but the management of the factory went ahead: “They were not authorized to raze the church.”

The APMA chairman said a mosque standing close by the church was not even touched. “Only the church, a symbol of the vulnerability of the Christian minority, fell victim to the intolerance of these industrialists.”

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