America-Pakistan: The United States on Wednesday expressed concern and urged Pakistan to investigate mob attacks on churches and Christian homes following rumors of condemnation of Islam. Hundreds of Muslim mobs stormed a Christian-dominated neighborhood on the outskirts of the eastern industrial city of Faisalabad on Wednesday, torching churches.
“We are deeply concerned that churches have been targeted in Pakistan in response to reports of desecration of the Quran,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters. He stated that while the United States supports free expression, “violence or the threat of violence is never an acceptable form of expression.”
“We urge the Pakistani authorities to thoroughly investigate these allegations and maintain calm,” Patel said. Blasphemy is a sensitive issue in Muslim-majority Pakistan, where anyone who insults Islam or Islamic figures can be punished with death. Critics say that rumors of the desecration of Islam are often spread to settle scores against non-Muslims.