A 10-foot wooden cross erected at the site of an under-construction church was recently set ablaze allegedly by land grabbers eyeing the piece of land in Qayyumabad.
The land grabbers have warned the site in charge, George Masih, to withdraw the FIR he has lodged over the burning of the cross, or get implicated in a false blasphemy case.
“The land grabbers are not just sending me death threats but also warning me of falsely charging me with blasphemy if I don’t take back the case against them. I’m mentally disturbed and don’t know what to do. In these times, anyone can file a false case against anyone, and if I am charged, I know I can never prove my innocence. And no one will come to my help.”
The man, whose lips quivered and beads of sweat formed on his forehead as he spoke of his apprehensions, is scared to go near the site of the under-construction church, and has restricted his activities to the four walls of his house.
“On January 3 this year, I was appointed as a coordinator by Father Thomas Gulfam of the Korangi parish to oversee the construction work on Plot No B-690, Block-A, Qayyumabad. For this purpose, we set up a wooden cross at the site. However, on February 7, around eight armed men burnt the cross in the middle of the night,” said Masih.
A new cross was put up at the barren 1,280 yards of land. But this nearly ended up being reduced to ashes.
“Following the cross-burning incident, a week later the men came back again and had doused the new cross with petrol when they were spotted by locals and were driven away,” said president of the Churches Save Property Welfare Association, Chauhdry Patras, at his office situated just steps away from the site of the church.
Explaining the history of the land, Patras said that the site came under the St Francis Xavier Church and belonged to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese Karachi. He said that there were four churches in the area, but they were too small for the locality where 400 to 500 Christian families were living.
On the importance of the cross, he said, “The cross, which is commonly worn around necks and is present at every Christian home and worship place, is the first and most important symbol of Christianity. It is our identity. On this very cross, Jesus Christ sacrificed his life for us, and it is the sign which tells others that we belong to the Christian community.”
Masih has registered an FIR (No 338/2011) under sections 295 (injuring or defiling place of worship, with intent to insult the religion of any class), 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offense committed in prosecution of common object), and 337 H ii (punishment for hurt by rash or negligent act) against the land grabbers.
Initially, the police were reluctant to file a case, and it was only through a court order that a case was finally registered at the Korangi Industrial Area police station. The suspects who Masih has nominated have already applied for pre-arrest bail.
“If the men are innocent, then why have they applied for pre-arrest bail? I appeal to the high-ups to provide me with security so that I do not become a victim of their false cases and accusations,” Masih pleaded.
“Like other religions, ours also preaches peace and tolerance. However, we are becoming victims of extremism and no one raises voice when our religious books, houses of worship and symbols are desecrated. Today if I’m being threatened, it is because I registered a case against those who destroyed the symbol of our religious identity.” However, he is determined not to withdraw the case against land grabbers.

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Who is NEXT???????????

ISLAMABAD: Gunmen shot and killed Pakistan’s government minister for religious minorities on Wednesday, the latest attack on a high-profile Pakistani figure who had urged reforming harsh blasphemy laws that impose the death penalty for insulting Islam.
Shahbaz Bhatti was on his way to work in Islamabad when unknown gunmen riddled his car with bullets, police officer Mohmmad Iqbal said. The minister arrived dead at Shifa Hospital and his driver was also wounded badly, hospital spokesman Asmatullah Qureshi said.
The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the killing, saying the minister had been “punished” for being a blasphemer.
Witnesses said the attackers scattered leaflets signed by “The Qaeda and the Taliban of Punjab” at the attack scene, which read: “This is the punishment of this cursed man.”
Taliban militants had called for Bhatti’s death because of his attempts to amend theblasphemy law.
“He was a blasphemer like Salman Taseer,” spokesman Sajjad Mohmand said by telephone from an undisclosed location.

View of pamphlet, attributed to Al-Qaida and TTP, was found at the site where Shahbaz Bhatti was gunned down in Islamabad.-APP photo

Gulam Rahim was coming from a nearby market when he saw Bhatti’s car drive out of his house. Three men standing nearby with guns suddenly began firing at the vehicle, a dark-colored Toyota.
Two of the men opened the door and tried to pull Bhatti out, Rahim said, while a third man fired his Kalashnikov rifle repeatedly into the car. The three gunmen then sped away in a white Suzuki Mehran car, said Rahim who took shelter behind a tree.
Pakistani TV channels showed Bhatti’s vehicle afterward, its windows shattered with bullet holes all over. It was not immediately clear why Bhatti, a member of the ruling Pakistani People’s Party, did not have bodyguards with him.
After Salman Taseer’s assassination, Bhatti said he was also receiving death threats, telling AFP that he was “the highest target right now”.
But he had insisted that he would work as usual.
“I’m not talking about special security arrangements. We need to stand against these forces of terrorism because they’re terrorising the country,” Bhatti said at the time.
“I cannot trust on security…. I believe that protection can come only from heaven, so these bodyguards can’t save you.”
Pakistani government leaders condemned the attack.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani visited the hospital and offered condolences to Bhatti’s grieving relatives.
“Such acts will not deter the government’s resolve to fight terrorism and extremism,” he said, adding that the killers would not go unpunished.
“This is concerted campaign to slaughter every liberal, progressive and humanist voice in Pakistan,” said Farahnaz Ispahani, an aide to President Asif Ali Zardari. “The time has come for the federal government and provincial governments to speak out and to take a strong stand against these murderers to save the very essence of Pakistan.”
Bhatti’s friend Robinson Asghar said the slain minister had received threats following the death of the Punjab governor. Asghar said he had asked Bhatti to leave Pakistan for a while because of the threats, but that Bhatti had refused.
Pakistan’s information minister, Firdous Ashiq Awan, said Bhatti had played a key role in promoting interfaith harmony, and he was a great asset.
“We are sad over his tragic death,” she said, adding that the government would investigate why he did not have a security escort.

CSPWA fixed another Holy Cross on the plot very next day.

This is an announcement to inform all the Christians of Pakistan that yesterday night some unknown peoples burnt The Holy Cross that was installed in a plot that was alloted for St. Francis Xavier Church of Roman Catholic Sect at the town of Qayyumabad Karachi, it is not a matter of any sect or Church it's an straight attack on the respect of The Holy Cross. C.S.P.W.A will protest against this disrespectful act today at 16:00 all the media channels will be present there. All the Christians are requested to participate in this protest without any prejudice for the sake of The Holy Cross.
Regards
A.P Bhatti