Pakistan: Presbyterian Church Building Burned To The Ground In Suspected Arson Attack

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – A Presbyterian church building in Rawalpindi District, Pakistan was burned to the ground in a suspected arson attack on Saturday, one day after a local Muslim threatened that he would not allow the congregation to celebrate Easter in their building, Morning Star News (MSN) reports.

In a statement to MSN, Rev. Adeem Alphonse of the United Presbyterian Junior Church in Gujar Khan said a suspected arsonist had burned down his church building in the early hours on Saturday morning. “The huge fire burned everything inside the church, including holy books, the sound system, furniture and curtains, etc. Pastor Alphonse said. “We strongly suspect that it’s a case of arson, but the police and administration are trying to hush up the matter by terming it an outcome of a short-circuit in the electricity wiring.”

The church’s congregation believes the fire was started by a Muslim known as Sheikh Ahmed, a businessman who wants the church’s plot of land for a plaza he is developing, MSN reports. Ahmed had come to the church on Good Friday and disrupted the ongoing service by trying to tear down tent coverings set up outside the building, Pastor Alphonse said.

“When the police stopped Ahmed from causing unrest, he threatened our church elders that he will not let us have Easter service at any cost,” Pastor Alphonse said. “We resumed our Good Friday service thinking that the police would talk sense into him, but I was shocked when I received a telephone call the same night that my church was burning. Everything inside was reduced to ashes. When we checked the electricity wiring, we did not see any signs of a short-circuit.”

Despite the congregation’s report to police that they believe Ahmed was behind the fire, City Police Officer Rawalpindi Syed Khalid Mehmood Hamdani said in a press statement it was caused by a short circuit. Nevertheless, investigations were said to be ongoing.

Islamic-majority Pakistan ranks seven on the Open Doors World Watch List 2024 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.

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