15th August 2009

Vibrant Pakistan Independence celebrations in Newham's Green Street but Islamabad Government must act now to Protect Pakistani Christians

Following the brutal murder of Pakistani Christians by a howling mob in Gojra, Punjab two weeks ago, the Leader of the Opposition on Newham Council Cllr Alan Craig wrote today to the Pakistan High Commissioner in London drawing attention to the stark contrast between the bloody atrocity against the minority Christian community in Pakistan on 1st August and the vibrant Independence Day celebrations for the minority Pakistani community on Green Street, Newham, in the heart of London's East End last night.

“Newham police closed the road and willingly assisted the celebrations here on Green Street but Gojra police actively colluded with the violence or at best passively stood by while it took place,” said Cllr Craig, leader of the Christian Peoples Alliance. “Gojra Christians including children were burnt to death by a mob that had been inflamed by the ranting of local militant mosque leaders and accusations of Christian ‘blasphemy’ against the Quran.

“I enjoyed attending last night's Green Street celebrations with our many Pakistani neighbours, but only with a heavy heart,” said Cllr Craig who also spoke at a protest by 250 UK-based Pakistani Christians outside the Pakistan High Commission in Lowndes Square on Tuesday (11th August).

In his letter to the High Commissioner (see below) Cllr Craig calls for the militant mosque leaders to be punished and for the Gojra police to be dealt with rigorously. Generous compensation should be paid to the grieving families and to the traumatised Christian community in Gojra. And Cllr Craig calls for the notorious Pakistan blasphemy laws to be abolished or drastically amended so that they can no longer be used to persecute minorities or to settle petty non-religious disputes.

“Things cannot go on like this,” said Cllr Craig. “A few weeks earlier a similar mob attacked Christian homes in the Kasur district of Punjab for alleged ‘blasphemy'. An ugly pattern has emerged in Punjab and elsewhere which must be stopped. The Islamabad government must act now to protect Christians and other minorities.”