LAHORE, Pakistan — Police in Pakistan are refusing to arrest Muslims who attacked a Catholic household and seized their farmland, and officers additionally broken property, sources stated.
Shahnaz Yousaf, a resident of Chak 694/36 GB village in Toba Tek Singh District, Punjab Province, stated dozens of armed Muslims led by native landlords Atif Ali, Khawar Ali and Baber Ali attacked her household as they have been harvesting their wheat crop on April 16.
Her father, Yousaf Masih, had obtained the ten.6-acre parcel on lease from the federal government in 1989, and the household has invested cash and labor to make it cultivable, Shahnaz Yousaf stated. Space Muslims turned jealous and started plotting to deprive the household of their livelihood, she stated.
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The land was their solely supply of livelihood, however after they have been unable to pay the lease for some years, in March 2023 a senior income official directed them to pay 3.5 million rupees (US$13,000) to retain the land — 2.1 million rupees (US$7,300) upfront and the remaining quantity in installments, she stated.
“It was not easy to gather such a big amount on such short notice, yet we sold all our valuable possessions to pay the lease amount within the given deadline,” Yousaf stated.
Months handed with none difficulty, however in November her brothers realized that the landlords had persuaded the native assistant commissioner to incorporate their parcel in an public sale. The household filed an injunction order in opposition to the proposed public sale with the Lahore Excessive Courtroom, which it granted.
“Despite the court’s order, the assistant commissioner leased the land in the name of Atif Ali, the son of Babar Ali,” Yousaf stated. “We came to know of this shadowy auction a week later when police and revenue department officials arrived on the site and destroyed the fodder that we had cultivated for our cattle. We pleaded with them to stop and even showed them the court’s order, but they refused to listen to us.”
The household filed a grievance within the commissioner’s workplace the identical day, and he permitted them to proceed cultivating the land, she stated.
“During this time, we were continuously harassed and threatened by police officials and henchmen of the landlords to vacate the land,” Yousaf stated.
On Feb. 6, two days earlier than common elections, the Muslims once more threatened her brother, Ashraf Yousaf, she stated.
“He immediately called the police helpline, but we were shocked when a police team, instead of arresting the perpetrators, stormed our house and damaged household items,” Shahnaz Yousaf, in tears, informed Christian Day by day Worldwide-Morning Star Information. “They took me to the police station and kept me in illegal detention for more than two hours.”
Shahnaz stated that the police informed her brothers she could be freed solely after they agreed to vacate the land.
“I was finally allowed to go home after the village headman intervened on our behalf,” she stated.
Ashraf Yousaf stated the Muslims continued to intimidate and harass the household, submitting faux circumstances in opposition to them and damaging their crops.
“We have no experience of legal matters, as we only focused on our agricultural work and never got involved in fights with others,” he stated. “But in the last few months, we have realized that we are not equals in the eyes of the law.”
Ashraf Yousaf stated he was working within the fields on April 16 when the Muslims arrived in teams. They have been armed with weapons, batons and different weapons and had additionally introduced alongside a wheat-harvesting machine, he stated.
“When I tried to stop them, reminding them of the court’s stay order, they attacked me and started hitting me with their guns and batons,” Ashraf Yousaf stated. “Seeing the commotion, my two brothers and both sisters ran towards me to save me from the attack, but the attackers targeted them as well, resulting in several bone fractures and other injuries to all of us.”
In addition they seized his sister’s cell phone as she was making an attempt to report the assault and tore her garments, he stated.
The assailants fled earlier than a police crew arrived, he stated. Officers informed them to get medical remedy for his or her accidents and go to the police station, the place they might additionally name the opposite occasion to settle the matter.
“However, when we went to the town for medical treatment, the Muslims returned to the fields, harvested our wheat crop and stole the entire produce,” Ashraf Yousaf stated. “When we reached the police station and told them what had happened in our absence, the officer on duty refused to register our complaint and said that our plight will end only when we surrender to the demand of the Muslim landowners.”
The household additionally confronted a number of difficulties in acquiring their medical-legal studies from the native authorities hospital.
“It seems that the entire system is working against us,” he stated. “After much efforts and pleading, we finally got our medical reports, but the police delayed the registration of an FIR [First Information Report] for 10 days. Our FIR was registered on April 25, but the police made no effort to arrest the accused persons.”
4 days later, the Christian household realized that the Muslims had registered a faux case in opposition to them, alleging that that they had injured somebody, he stated.
“We have lost everything, our livelihood, our money and most of all the hope of getting justice,” Ashraf Yousaf stated. “We are financially drained, as whatever money we were left with is being spent on the treatment of our injuries.”
The household has appealed to the Punjab Province chief minister, senior police officers and Christian leaders to intervene and handle their authentic grievances, he stated.
“We are weak and helpless people, but the local police are siding with the influential accused instead of supporting us,” Ashraf Yousaf stated. “We desperately need help and support from our Christian leadership, as there’s no one else we can turn to in this very difficult time.”
Pakistan ranked seventh on Open Doorways’ 2024 World Watch Listing of essentially the most troublesome locations to be a Christian, because it was the earlier yr.
“Well bless their hearts.”
