In Sheikhupura, Punjab, a mob of violent extremist sought to kill two Pakistan Christian women and her husband on a false charge of blasphemy, before the Pakistan police surrounded the village, protected the Christians, and arrested the cleric leading the lynch mob.

Pakistan Christian Post reports on the torture of two Christian woman in Sheikhupura, Punjab; the woman and her family was dragged out of her home beaten and tortured, over a dispute on a carpet sale. Per the report, a mob of villages made a false charge of blasphemy against the Christian women, then tortured her, shaved her husband’s head, and her sister-in-law painted their faces black, put shoes around their neck, and paraded them on donkeys. The alleged assault took place in Chak 460, a village in Sheikhupura district, some 30 kilometers from Punjab’s provincial capital Lahore.

The Pakistan District Police Officer (DPO) arrived to get the situation under control. In the report, “hundreds of Police men” “reached the village,” and “The police took over the entire village and surrounded the village to control the situation.” The Pakistan Christian woman was taken into protective custody with her family, and moved to an undisclosed location. Reportedly the “police will stay in the village few days for the safety of the other Christians.”

The AFP and Pakistan Today news media also reported that a cleric accused of leading the mob to try kill the Christians on the false charge of blasphemy has been arrested.

The news agencies reported that Sohail Zafar Chattha, the district police chief, stated:”One of the clerics who led the mob demanding the arrest of the couple and their death was at large, he was arrested today (Friday) and we are looking for a barber who ignited the whole issue.” The police officer stated “I told him I would not register a case because no blasphemy has been committed. But I have registered a case against the cleric and 400 others for inciting violence and endangering the lives of the couple.” He stated “the mob meant business. They wanted to kill them right there.”

Responsible for Equality And Liberty applauds the actions of these Pakistan police in protecting the lives of these oppressed Pakistan Christians from this lynch mob, and for the arrest of the extremist cleric behind these attacks.  But the police will not always be able, or willing to arrive on time, in every case to protect such religious minority.  Pakistan needs to recognize that more fundamental human rights change is necessary for protection of religious minorities and to stop the abusive blasphemy law as a basis for murder and mayhem by extremists.

Responsible for Equality And Liberty supports and defends the universal human rights of all people, and it reminds Pakistan of its obligations and commitment under international law. We challenge the Pakistan blasphemy law as a direct attack on our shared universal human rights.

Pakistan is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) ratified as of June 23, 2010, as well as a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Pakistan Blasphemy Law is in direct contradiction to its international agreement of ICCPR Article 18, which includes “1. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.” The Pakistan Blasphemy law is in direct opposition to these shared universal human rights for the Pakistan people and for all people. Pakistan needs to decide whether or not it is a member of the nations of the world that respects human rights and dignity, or it is a clear and unquestionably self-declared rogue nation which rejects these global standards necessary for a free people.

R.E.A.L. urges the Pakistan government and the Pakistan people to end the oppressive blasphemy law which attacks the rights of Pakistan Christians and other religious minorities, and which is used as a method to harass and intimidate people with a grudge against a Pakistani in any identity group. These attacks on our shared universal human rights have to end. We urge Pakistan to realize the need for change and to truly become responsible for equality and liberty.