Minority rights activists have expressed grave concern over the Jaranwala incident and an assassination attempt on a pastor in Faisalabad, urging the government to conduct a comprehensive investigation and bring the perpetrators to justice.
The activists also demanded immediate steps to ensure the safety and security of religious minorities.
On September 3, Pastor Eliazer was shot and injured by unidentified assailants, merely a week after unknown individuals had defaced his church's walls with Islamic slogans in Faisalabad.
According to the first information report, Pastor Eleazar was returning home in Rehmat Town with his assistant, John Masih, after conducting the Sunday service when they were confronted by the assailants. The attackers brandished a firearm and demanded that Pastor Eleazar recite the Kalma, an Islamic prayer phrase. When he refused, the assailant raised a slogan and opened fire, resulting in a gunshot wound to the upper body of Pastor Eleazar. The attackers fled the scene after the attack.
The pastor recounted that three days later, while he was returning home after picking up his son from school, he and his son were confronted by unidentified men who threatened him with the same fate.
Pastor Eleazar asserted that the individual who opened fire on him on Sunday was among those who had threatened him three days earlier.
Voice for Justice Chairperson Joseph Jansen vehemently condemned the attack on Pastor Eliazer. He expressed profound concern over the escalating violence and intolerance against religious minorities. He emphasized the urgent need to hold those individuals and groups accountable who are responsible for inciting violence, spreading hatred and discrimination, and attacking individuals solely because of their faith. The recent attacks on churches and homes in Jaranwala serve as a stark reminder of the pressing need to address this issue, he added.