These incidents are the latest in the ongoing series of attacks that Christians in Pakistan have had to endure in recent years.<\/p>\n
The Revd Patrick Augustine, now a priest of The Episcopal Church in Wisconsin, United States, but himself born in Gojra, where his father and grandfather ministered, writes that in such attacks, \u201d\u02dcThe Muslim attackers have often justified the persecution of Christians in Pakistan on the basis of the draconian Blasphemy Law section 295\u201d\u201cB and 295-C passed in 1982. These two laws make anyone deemed to have insulted the holy prophet of Islam or dishonoured the Holy Qur\u2019an liable for capital punishment and life imprisonment and fines. In its selective application it has provided a pretext for private vendettas, but its victims almost always have been Christians.\u2019<\/p>\n
Bishop Mano Rumalshah of Peshawar Diocese in Pakistan commented, \u201d\u02dcIt is horrible to have to say this – but at least these latest incidents have led to somebody \u201d\u201c both in Pakistan and outside the country – hearing our cry. Such episodes occur again and again, and their nature is always very similar: false accusations being made against Christians, and Muslim militants being stirred up by the voices of extremist preachers.\u2019<\/p>\n