Youhanabad incident

Sir: TV channels have telecast that Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif went to Kasur in order to visit the family of one of those victims who were lynched and burnt alive. He condoled with them and vowed that justice would be done. He also announced that more than 30 people had been arrested from Youhanabad. I feel sad for the ones who lost their lives because of the suicide bombings and also the ones who were lynched. I condemn both incidents. The Christians should not have reacted in that way. But seeing the developments of the events, I clearly see that the whole thing is going one sided and I doubt those arrested are the real culprits as I know one arrested boy who was preparing for his examinations when he was taken and nobody knows his whereabouts. He was at home receiving tuition when the incidents took place.

The Chief Minister has visited late Hafiz’s family but has not gone to condole with the Christian families. All that we see is that the authorities recognise the grief of the Muslim side but are overlooking the wrongs done to the Christians. They have been taken to an unknown place. The police have refused to write FIRs and are not listening to the families. The authorities must know that unless proved guilty they are not criminals. On paper the law is equal for all but in reality it is not so. We have seen it to be one sided.
The authorities and the media have always taken the side of the Muslim party while many a time ignoring or judging wrongly the religious minorities. In Punjab we see it happening to the Christians while in Sindh it is happening with the Hindus. Many Hindu girls have been abducted, forcibly converted and married off while they are not allowed to visit their families. The police, the courts and other law enforcing authorities have taken the sides of the Muslim parties. All of us fear that in this latest incident the judgment will be in favour of the Muslims. Only a grim picture is visible. It is high time for the government to look into the matter carefully and do justice with everyone.
ABID HABIB
Mirpurkhas