Christian Daily International–Morning Star News
A violent protest erupted in Karachi, Pakistan on Thursday (July 9) after unidentified persons mailed a desecrated page of the Quran to a Muslim shopkeeper along with photographs of a Christian and his mother, sources said.
Asif Bastian, a Karachi-based Christian rights advocate, said the envelope was delivered to Waleed General Store in Qazafi Colony, Baldia Town. It contained a burnt page of the Quran, photographs of 40-year-old Catholic Azeem Javaid and his mother, and an image of her national identity card.
“As news of the alleged desecration spread, several hundred Muslims, including activists from religious parties, gathered outside the street where Javaid’s home is located and began protesting,” Bastian told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. “Around 10 to 15 Christian families live on that street, and they were effectively trapped inside their homes.”
The protesters hurled stones at police vehicles after officers arrived at the scene, forcing an initial withdrawal, Bastian said. The Sindh Province government deployed paramilitary Rangers alongside additional police to bring the situation under control.
“The government’s timely intervention prevented what could have become a major tragedy,” he said. “After officials assured protest leaders that police would conduct a thorough investigation and examine CCTV footage from the Saddar Post Office, where the envelope was reportedly mailed, the demonstration was called off.”
Bastian said authorities later used an armored police vehicle to evacuate Javaid’s family to a secure location.
A source close to the family, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the incident appeared to be an attempt to falsely implicate Javaid in a blasphemy case or incite a mob attack against him.
“Javaid has a stable job and has never been involved in any religious controversy,” the source said. “He has had financial disputes with some individuals, so it is possible someone sought to frame him. It defies logic that a Christian would desecrate the Quran and then mail the material, along with his own photograph, to a shop directly across from his house. No one would deliberately implicate themselves in such a serious offense.”
The source said the family remains under police protection at an undisclosed location. Javaid, who was at work when the incident occurred, has also gone into hiding while authorities investigate the case.
Christian rights advocate Napolean Qayyum said the case bore similarities to August 2023 attacks in Jaranwala, Punjab Province, where fabricated blasphemy allegations against two Christian brothers triggered one of the worst episodes of anti-Christian violence in Pakistan’s history.
In that case, another Christian man was accused of planting blasphemous material bearing the brothers’ photographs. The allegations sparked mob attacks that ransacked at least 20 churches and more than 80 Christian homes. The two accused brothers were later acquitted after an anti-terrorism court ruled that the allegations had been fabricated.
“We should appreciate the Sindh government, police and Sindh Rangers for intervening promptly,” Qayyum said. “Otherwise, the situation could have deteriorated rapidly, not only for the Christian residents of Baldia Town but potentially in other parts of Karachi as well.”
Qayyum also welcomed statements by local Muslim leaders, who later described the incident as an apparent conspiracy to create unrest.
“Their press conference was a positive step,” he said. “We fully support their demand for the immediate arrest of those responsible for orchestrating this malicious act.”
The Karachi incident came just days after more than two dozen Christian families fled their homes in Punjab Province amid fears of mob violence following blasphemy allegations against a pastor living in the United States. Joseph Nayyar, a human rights advocate based in Hafizabad, said tensions escalated in Jhulan village in Gujranwala Division on July 3 after mosque loudspeaker announcements accused Pastor Sajeel Robin, a native of the village now residing in the United States, of posting social media videos deemed offensive to Islam and its prophet, Muhammad.
Police from Kot Ladha station subsequently advised Christian residents to temporarily leave their homes as a precaution against possible attacks, Nayyar said.
“Most Christian families fled with only the belongings they could carry,” he said. “Police also took Pastor Sajeel’s father, Robin Masih, and his maternal uncle, Shamaun Masih, into protective custody, while his brother, Nabeel Robin, went into hiding to avoid arrest.”
Nayyar credited local police and some Muslim residents with helping prevent violence through negotiations with local clerics.
“The situation could easily have escalated had the police and local Muslim community not intervened,” he said. “They urged the protesting clerics not to target innocent Christians and assured them that any legal action would be directed only at those found responsible.”
Following those assurances, local clerics and Muslim community leaders signed a written statement declaring that they were “pardoning” Robin Masih and Shamaun Masih after the two men issued an unconditional apology and publicly distanced themselves from Pastor Robin.
The displaced Christian families returned to the village on July 4.
Pakistan’s blasphemy laws have long drawn criticism from human rights organizations and legal experts, who say they are frequently misused to settle personal disputes, seize property and target religious minorities. Although no one has been executed by the state under the country’s blasphemy statutes, accusations have repeatedly sparked mob violence, extrajudicial killings and prolonged pretrial detention for those accused.
