In a rare show of Christian solidarity in Pakistan, the victims of the Muslim attacks on Christians in August 2023 finished an unprecedented 17-day sit-in on Tuesday (September 2) after government guarantees of justice.
Speaking to the protesters, Lala Robin Daniel, convener of the Jalanwara victims committee, said in Pakistani history that Christians staged such an extension of their rights.
“Christians have suffered over 13 mob attacks in their neighborhoods over the years, but have never spoken out for justice before,” Daniel said on August 16, 2023, in the lack of justice to protest following the attack in the Jalanwara region of Punjab. “For the first time in the history of the country, within a 10-kilometer radius, protests were held not only in the streets but also in cemeteries and churches.”
The sit-in was the first time Christians, particularly women, had joined the protest during their fasting, leaving daily chores to let them hear their voices. Daniel said Christians in Jalanwara were forced to protest because pleas for justice and compensation for losses were deaf.
“We were forced to ensure that those who claim to be advocating for us are not aware of the ground situation while holding meetings at five-star hotels in Lahore and Faisalabad,” he said.
None of the supposed advocates have visited the victim’s home to see if they received compensation or find out the circumstances of the legal case, Daniel said.
“These people dressed in suits and robes are holding ceremonial meetings with government officials just to take photos and make money in our names, so the government didn’t take them seriously,” he said. “Our request from day one is that the government should be directly involved with us.”
Community leaders said when the government approached them for consultation, three female victims were included on the negotiation committee along with other appointed representatives, allowing them to highlight the challenges they continued to face in their daily lives.
“We were summoned to Faisalabad, where seven or eight people from the federal government agencies attended a meeting with us,” Daniel said. “They said they assured the government that they noticed our demands and started seeing the outcome that started there. They didn’t ask us to end the protest.
The Victims Committee unanimously decided to suspend sit-ins, taking into account the assurances made by federal officials and taking into account the heavy rains and floods in the country.
“But if we don’t see any change in our situation, we will resume our protest more vigorously,” he warned.
A female protester addressing the rally said Christians in Jalanwara were disappointed by the government’s inaction against the perpetrators of the violence.
“The nation should know that we will not rest until we have justice,” she said.
The protest, organized by the victims committee Jalanwara and the Minority Rights Movement Pakistan, began on August 16th at the Christian Colony in Jalanwara.
None of the perpetrators have been convicted after damaging and damaging more than 25 church buildings and 85 Christian homes in Jalanwarateshir, Faisalabad district on August 16, 2023.
The attack sparked nationwide condemnation, with over 300 Muslims arrested for the riot. Most were rescued or discharged from hospital due to defective police investigations. On June 4, the Faisalabad counterterrorism court acquitted 10 suspects involved in burning church buildings and looting Christian homes during the violence.
The petitioner’s lawyers accused the police of their innocence despite strong evidence against the suspect. He previously told Christian Daily International Morning Star News that a similar verdict is expected in the remaining cases related to the attack.
Of the 5,213 suspects arrested in the Jalanwara riots, 380 were arrested, while 4,833 remained a year after the attack, Amnesty International said. 228 of the arrested suspects were released on bail, with 77 accused against them, according to Babu Ram Pants, the deputy regional director of Amnesty International in South Asia.
He added at the time that “despite the assurance of accountability of the authorities, severely inadequate behaviour allowed an environment of immunity against the perpetrators of Jalanwara’s violence.”
Bloody accusations are common in Pakistan, and those convicted of the charge of humiliation of Muhammad, the Islamic prophet, could be sentenced to death. Authorities have not yet been sentenced to death for blasphemy, but often the accusations alone can cause riots and incite violence to incite violence.
The two Christian brothers of Jalanwara were acquitted of blasphemous asp guilty after the anti-terrorist court ruled that it was framed by another Christian following a personal dispute.
Pakistan ranked 8th on the 2025 World Watchlist, where it’s the hardest place to become a Christian.
