Two Pakistani Christian brothers, who were chained together, had been shot down by the suspected Islamic militant gunmen when they departed from the court under police custody after a trial hearing in Faisalabad City, Punjab province, on July 19. Immediately, both were taken to Allied Hospital in the city where they were pronounced dead. A cop, Mohammed Hussain, who was accompanied them was also wounded seriously. Despite the police presence, the assassins escaped easily. Aftab Alexander Mighal of the Minorities Concern of Pakistan condemned strongly the incident and demanding that the culprits should be immediately arrested.

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According to Spero News, “in some areas, clashes between Christians and Muslims ensued and at least ten persons were injured. A church was pelted by Muslim protesters with stones, causing extensive damage. The protesters also damaged some shops. Police used tear gas to disperse the crowd. According to police sources, around 60 Muslims were arrested in connection with the clashes. An exchange of gunfire was also reported between both communities.”

Sajid Emmanuel, 30, a graduate business student of Faisalabad, and Pastor Rashid Emmanuel, 32, were arrested July 2 under Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws’ section 295-c Pakistan Penal Code on charges of having written a pamphlet with blasphemous comments about Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). The funeral was held on July 20, early in the morning, in order to avoid further clashes between Muslims and Christians.”

As reported by Spero, “right after the attack on Christian brothers, the local administration deployed a heavy contingent of police force to control the situation in the town. Tensions remain high. At the evening of July 19, announcements were made from mosques in Waris Pura demanding attacks on Christians.”