Mahira Khan urges Shireen Mazari to protect minorities, ‘lead by example’

Mahira Khan has urged Federal Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari to “lead by example” and look into giving protection to minorities after a 200-strong mob attacked a Christian family in Okara.

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The actor tagging Mazari in a tweet wrote: “Dear Shireen Mazari, your attention needed here please. We need to lead by example.”

Dear @ShireenMazari1 your attention needed here please 🙏🏼 We need to lead by example. https://t.co/CxvLM6Ey4J

— Mahira Khan (@TheMahiraKhan) May 18, 2021

According to reports, Christian boys were beaten in a Muslim-majority village in the Okara district of Punjab following which a mob of villagers attacked the Christian community in the area.

Father Khalid Mukhtar, parish priest of St. Thomas Catholic Church in Chak 5 said the attack was sparked following an attack on Catholic youngsters on May 14.

“The boys were cleaning the church when one of the Muslim landlords, passing by the church, accused them of throwing dust on him. They attacked the boys and then raided 15 houses of our community the next day,” said the priest.

Mangta Masih, a labourer lost his thumb when the mob attacked his house.

“We hid our women inside while they tried to break in,” said Masih. “One of them grabbed me from behind and another struck with a sickle blade. I tried to prevent the blow with my right hand. I fell down and they kept beating us with batons.”

He further shared that the attackers were “armed with glass bottles, stones, axes, batons and bricks”.

“Others used stairs to climb to our roofs and started breaking our furniture. We pleaded to spare the women but the attack continued for half an hour,” said Masih.

Another woman who was wounded in the attack said that the mob “broke the locks, grabbed our hair and pulled us out one by one”.

“Young girls were assaulted and left with torn clothes,” said the woman, detailing the horror. Christian activists have been sharing disturbing footage of the attack on social media.

Following the attacks, Father Mukhtar conducted a meeting of parish committee members on May 16 at St. Thomas Church, gathered statements of the injured and filed a complaint at the local police station.

The local deputy superintendent of police visited the site and assured locals that a first information report (FIR) would be registered against the assailants under Section 452 (house trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Meanwhile, Osman Khalid Butt also urged the Federal Minister to take notice and protect religious minorities in the country.

Other sources claim the mob was 200-strong. This is District Okara. @ShireenMazari1 I urge you to take notice – our religious minorities need protection and justice.https://t.co/qO4Uqjonu9

— Osman Khalid Butt 🇵🇸 (@aClockworkObi) May 18, 2021