Police in Pakistan attack pastor in the middle of church service

Christian persecution in Pakistan grows bolder as a police disrupted a Christian church in the middle of its worship service and attacked the pastor standing at the pulpit on June 12.

According to Pakistan Christian Post, Muslim constable Amir Abdullah stormed into a Sunday morning service held by the United Christian Church in Fazila colony of Lahore and verbally abused the church members. When Pastor Riaz Rehmat intervened and asked the police to desist from what he was doing, Abdullah approached Rehmat at the pulpit and then slapped and beat him up.

Abdullah claimed he only responded from a complaint he received from another Muslim, Shabir Shah, who charged that the church in Fazila colony misused its loud speaker.

The infuriated Christians responded by assembling at the Ferozepur Road to protest against the attack and blocked traffic. Police officials called off the protest by promising to take legal actions against Abdullah and Shah.

Superintendent of Police Amara Athar also announced the suspension on Abdullah and that he is already being investigated.

"God forbidden, if a Christian would have committed such sacrilegious act, he would have incriminated of charges as relentless as blasphemy and others," the Christian protesters said, as reported by Christians in Pakistan.

Nasir Saeed, director of Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLASS), a U.K.-based charity, denounced the attack as "shameful." He also noted that such incident is only among the rising incidences of Christian persecution in the country.

"The police hardly care about the Christians' religious sentiments and often violate their right of religious freedom," Saeed told Pakistan Christian Post.

Lahore is a largely Christian-dominated city in the predominantly Muslim country where Christians are considered religious minorities and treated as inferior citizens. According to World Watch Monitor, major cities such as Peshawar are looking for non-Muslims to employ as sanitary workers.

In a report by CNN, targeting religious minorities is strategically used by the Taliban groups as means of propaganda, as a military strategy, as well as to cause division in the country and to destabilize the government.