CSPWA

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.