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PM welcomes Afghanistan to SAARC
by Ashok Dixit

     Dhaka: Prime Minister Dr. N Two churches set on fire in Pakistan Lahore: Following reports suggesting that a Christian had desecrated the Quran and burnt an Islamic school, an angry mob of more than 1500 protesters torched two churches, a missionary school, a student hostel and the home of a Christian priest near the town of Sangla Hill. Nobody was injured in the attack, said the local police. The Punjab province administration claimed that the Christian was found guilty of desecrating the holy book, even as the head of a minorities' body refuted reports saying that a Christian had burnt the Quran. The attacks came a day after a local Muslim resident accused one Yousaf Masih, a Christian, of burning a one-room Islamic school along with copies of the Holy Quran. Punjab Home Secretary Pervaiz Dogar said that Yousaf Masih had been arrested for the desecration, adding: "It had been established that Yousaf had committed the offence, and the police will investigate into who provoked the youths to burn the churches. The police have also arrested almost 90 people involved in vandalising the churches." Dogar said that allegations against Masih were apparently levelled by people who had lost money while gambling with him on Friday. "We don't know who is right and who is wrong, but the fact remains that hundreds of people today attacked two churches and burned them," he said, adding that the situation was "now under control". Meanwhile, Shahbaz Bhatti, the head of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance, condemned the attacks, saying: "No Christian burned copies of the Holy Quran. No Christian can even think of doing it. We have a lot of respect for the Holy Quran and Islam's Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)."

    The incident has evoked a strong response from the minority Christian community in the country. The Christians stated that the attacks took place simply over a monetary dispute between the accusers and the accused and had nothing to do with the alleged desecration. "At the moment nothing is certain and investigations on the allegation of the Quran have not started. According to our initial information, the incidents started because of a monetary dispute between the accusers and the accused and had nothing to do with the alleged desecration," the Daily Times quoted Catholic Archbishop Lawrence Saldanaha as saying. The Archbishop said that one to two thousand men gathered at the venues for over an hour and vandalised these places. He said the attacks seemed to be planned and organised as the attackers came to the site on buses. He added that the local SHO was informed about the tension, and requested for protection 12 hours before the incident.