report in Dawn, August 28th, 2023
TOBA TEK SINGH: Caretaker Federal Minister for National Heritage and Culture Jamal Shah says that every Pakistani should discourage extremism and condemn the incidents like those of Jaranwala.
Talking to the media after visiting the burnt churches and houses of the Christian localities in Jaranwala on Sunday, he termed it a legal and moral duty of all citizens to protect the minority communities as Islam also taught peace and love. He said under a conspiracy, religious hatred had been created in the society by the enemies of the country in the last three or four years.
Mr Jamal assured the Christian community members that the whole of Pakistan was saddened at the Aug 16 attacks and urged the people to remove the thorns planted between the Muslim and Christian communities. He said the caretakers were there for a few months and their aim was to ensure the safety of the people during this temporary period.
Jamal Shah said many of his friends and teachers were Christians, Hindus and Parsis and they all get along with one another very well.
He said that he was very ashamed of some people who apparently called themselves Muslims but in reality they were animals who had caused the pain to Christian community.
On the occasion, some local people from Essa Nagar met the minister and complained to him that police had arrested some innocent people in the wake of the attacks.
The minister assured them that he would contact the authorities concerned in this regard, claiming that police would not be allowed to arrest any innocent person.
Mr Shah stressed that the caretaker government would fulfill its responsibilities in an impartial manner and those involved in the tragedy would be punished under the law.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1772533/jamal-shah-sees-a-conspiracy-behind-religious-hatred-in-country
