(Pakistan) Hate Engulfs Christians in Pakistan
— NYT reports: “Typical of such attacks, the police, overwhelmed by the mob, did little to stand in its way.”
— “The blistered black walls of the Hameed family’s bedroom tell of an unspeakable crime. Seven family members died here on Saturday, six of them burned to death by a mob that had broken into their house and shot the grandfather dead, just because they were Christian”
— “The family had huddled in the bedroom, talking in whispers with their backs pressed against the door, as the mob taunted them.”
— “‘They said, ‘If you come out, we’ll kill you,’ ‘ said Ikhlaq Hameed, 22, who escaped. Among the dead were two children, Musa, 6, and Umaya, 13.”
— “More than 100 Christian houses were burned and looted on Saturday in a rampage that lasted about eight hours by a crowd the authorities estimate was as large as 20,000 strong. In addition to the seven members of the Hameed family who were killed, about 20 people were wounded.”
— “The authorities, who said the Koran accusation was spurious, filed criminal charges in the case late Sunday and apprehended at least 12 people. Officials said a banned Sunni militant group, Sipah-e-Sohaba, was among those responsible for the attacks, the third convulsion of anti-Christian mob violence in the region in the past four weeks.”
— “Christians, who make up less than 5 percent of the entire population, are often treated as second-class citizens in Pakistan, where Islam is the official religion. Non-Muslims are constitutionally barred from becoming president or prime minister.”
— “The Hameeds were having breakfast when the mob descended, wielding guns, hurling stones and shouting insults (‘Dogs!’ ‘American agents!’) through their window. The Hameeds did not appear to have been singled out but had the misfortune of living where the mob entered the neighborhood and happened to be home at the time.”
— “‘We were afraid because the clerics had been railing against us in the mosques,’ said Riaz Masih, a Christian and retired math teacher whose house was gutted. ‘They said, ‘Let’s teach them a lesson.'”

— See also:  Pakistan: Christians Burned to Death (including women and children), Mob Burns Houses, Church in Punjab’s Gojra – Korian Area