SHEIKHUPURA

After alleged blasphemy committed by a Christian family a couple of days ago here, the police brought the situation under control in village Makki 460 in the remits of Sadar Farooqabad police.
Two married Christian sisters Rukhsana and Rehana lived with their families in the village. One day, Rukhsana’s husband Awais removed from a pole a flex inscribed with school advertisement and Arabic words and verses like Rabi Zidni Ilma and brought it to his home.
The Christian family started using the flex as carpet for sleeping. Their neighborer namely Kaneez Fatima visited their house and noticed the said flex being used as carpet. She after seeing Arabic verses asked the Christians ladies to give her the piece of flex immediately and she also offered to give payment. However, the family asked Fatima to pay Rs1,000 for it.
The latter went to her home and brought Rs600 and asked Rukhsana and Rehana that remaining amount of Rs400 shall be paid very soon or they could get milk from her against the remaining amount. However, they demanded full amount on the spot.
At which, Fatima called her brother Nasir who on seeing this situation informed the local religious scholars, a relative of Kaneez Fatima told this scribe. The local villagers also gathered and caught Rukhsana’s husband Awais. They shaved his head and boarded on a donkey after putting a shoes garland around his neck. But a few locals intervened and asked the mob not to do this, stated Younis Masih, Yousaf Masih, Boota Masih and others.
The area people including Qasim, Amjad and Tayyab said if the Christian ladies had not insisted and given the flex to the Muslim lady, such incident would not have occurred.
Meanwhile, some villagers informed the police about the incident. After receiving the information, DPO Sohail Zafar Chattha with heavy contingent of police rushed to the area to control the situation and passed full day in the village. He negotiated with the local Muslims and their cleric head Qari Yaseen. Then the DPO boarded the Christians families in a vehicle and dropped Lahore to their Bishop safely.
Christian elder Rafiq Masih who lives in the area for the last 35 years told this scribe that some miscreants in both the communities do not want peace and they often try to disturb peace. “However,” he said, “it is our duty to avoid such people.”
He said in Youhana Abad Lahore, an incident took place in the past in which innocent Muslim boys were burnt alive by the angry Christians. He said their lives could be saved through active role of the law-enforcement agencies. He praised the district police’s role for appropriately handling the situation.