Pakistan court hands rare prison sentence over anti-Christian riots

Christians in Pakistan have welcomed the conviction of a Muslim man for his role in the 2023 anti-Christian riots in Jaranwala, Punjab, calling it a rare instance of accountability in cases of mob violence against religious minorities.

An anti-terrorism court in Faisalabad on July 13 sentenced Irfan Yousaf, a crane driver, to 10 years in prison for attacking the town’s Christian neighborhood after allegations of Quran desecration. He was among thousands of Muslims accused of participating in the riots that left 26 churches and more than 80 Christian homes vandalized.

News of the verdict was greeted with applause during a July 13 consultation jointly organized by the National Council of Churches in Pakistan (NCCP), the country’s main ecumenical body representing Protestant churches, and the nongovernmental Implementation Minority Rights Forum (IMRF).

Samuel Pyara, chairman of IMRF, who has filed petitions in the Supreme Court and regularly meets federal officials to press for speedy trials and compensation for victims, said the conviction was secured through digital forensic evidence.

“It followed forensic analysis of a video recorded by Wahida Mukhtar, a local Christian…