MULTAN, Pakistan (AP) — Most of the suspects in a rampage last year against minority Christians in eastern Pakistan over alleged blasphemy are not in custody and authorities have failed to deliver justice to the victims, a human rights group said Friday.
“More than 90% of the suspects of the attack in Jaranwala, in Punjab’s Faisalabad district, are still at large,” Amnesty International said in a statement on the anniversary of one of Pakistan's worst attacks on Christians, in which churches and homes of Christians were destroyed.
The violence erupted after Muslims alleged that they saw a local Christian and his friend desecrating pages from a Quran. The attack drew nationwide condemnation. No one died, as terrified Christians quickly fled to safer places.
Amnesty International said it obtained its information from police after filing a Right to Information Request. It said of the 5,213 accused, 380 were arrested and 4,833 were still at large. It said of those who were arrested, 228 were released on bail and 77 others had the charges against them dropped.
It said trials of the suspects have not started and about 40% of victims who lost property are still awaiting government compensation.
Abid Khan, the regional police chief, said investigators have referred the cases of suspects linked to the violence to an anti-terrorism court, and their trial was expected to start soon.
“Despite the authorities’ assurances of accountability, the grossly inadequate action has allowed a climate of impunity for the perpetrators of the Jaranwala violence,” Babu Ram Pant, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for South Asia, said in the statement.
Blasphemy accusations are common in Pakistan. Under its laws, anyone found guilty of insulting Islam or Islamic religious figures can be sentenced to death. While authorities have yet to carry out any death sentences for blasphemy, often just the accusation can spark riots and incite mobs to violence, lynching and killings.
Yaqoob Yousaf, a priest in Jaranwala, told The Associated Press on Friday that most of the suspects in the attacks had been freed. He said attacks on Christians on false accusations are continuing and that Christians are “still living in a state of fear” in various parts of the country.
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Associated Press writer Babar Dogar in Lahore, Pakistan, contributed to this report.