10 different JITs formed to probe Jaranwala incident

LAHORE: The Punjab caretaker government has formed 10 joint investigation teams (JITs) to probe the cases of violence against Christians in Jaranwala, where mobs attacked churches and homes over blasphemy allegations.

Shakeel Ahmad, the additional chief secretary for home affairs, has issued a notification appointing the Special Superintendent of Police Operations from the Counter Terrorism Department Faisalabad as the head of one of the JITs.

The other nine JITs will investigate the cases registered in connection with the Jaranwala incident and prepare charge sheets to be submitted to the court, the notification said.

The violence erupted on August 16, after two Christian men were accused of blasphemy and desecrating the holy Quran in Jaranwala, about 115 km (71 miles) from Lahore.

Read more: Jaranwala incident has put as all to shame: Ashrafi

Earlier on Thursday, the police claimed to have arrested 17 more suspects in the Jaranwala incident after geofencing. Police said the arrests were made with the help of the videos of the nominated suspects in the Jaranwala and geofencing of the crime scene.

With the latest arrest, the total number of rounded-up suspects in the Jaranwala incident has jumped to 207.

According to the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR), a Pakistani government body, at least 17 churches were vandalised by angry mobs that also torched and looted Christian homes in the area.

The Punjab government has deployed paramilitary forces to maintain law and order.

Pakistan’s Christian community, which makes up about 1.6% of the country’s 220 million population, has long faced discrimination and persecution.

In 2013, more than 80 people were killed when two suicide bombers attacked a church in Peshawar city. In 2015, at least 15 people were killed when Taliban militants bombed two churches in Lahore.