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This is an archive article published on March 10, 2013

Mob sets fire to Christian enclave in Pakistan

On Thursday,Imran accused Masih,28,of blasphemy,sending a shiver of apprehension through the Christian population.

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AN ENRAGED Muslim crowd attacked a Christian neighbourhood in Lahore on Saturday,setting fire to more than 150 houses and 2 churches,in a new display of religious intolerance as Pakistan reels from violent persecution against other minorities.

In Lahore,several thousand people attacked the Joseph Colony,a Christian neighbourhood of about 200 homes,after a report that a Christian sanitation worker had blasphemed the Prophet Muhammad.

The claims of blasphemy in Lahore,the police said,stemmed from an argument on Wednesday evening between two friends: Sawan Masih,the sanitation worker,and Shahid Imran,a Muslim barber.

On Thursday,Imran accused Masih,28,of blasphemy,sending a shiver of apprehension through the Christian population. People began to leave their homes that evening,and on Friday,the police prepared charges against Masih.

On Saturday morning,several thousand people,including ethnic Pashtuns who worked in nearby factories,set upon the colony.

By evening,about 178 houses,18 shops and 2 churches had been damaged,said Ahmad Raza,leading the rescue operation.

 

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