Church Demolished by Land Mafia

26th Jan, 2008, Daily Times Editorial (second editorial): Punjab Governor must save the church!Land-grabbers in Lahore have demolished a church in Garden Town desecrating the Bible and the Cross which is a serious offence under law. And no one has taken notice so far. The priest was evicted on December 11, 2007. Despite protests the police did not even come to the place of offence. Now the Christian MNAs and MPAs have gathered to protest the deadened humanity of the Punjab caretaker administration.

The Church of Christ is an old religious institution dating back to 1963 and belongs to the Christian community. Its vulnerability lies in the nine kanals and 15 marlas on which it is situated. Lahore’s quickly proliferating land mafia plotted to grab it because the Christians are underprivileged in Pakistan and no one comes to their help when they are in trouble. Local government personalities openly named by the Christians have been after the church land and claim that they have bought it for Rs 30 million. Clearly this is a case on which the Punjab Governor, Gen (retd) Khalid Maqbool must move and prevent this “sale” from taking place. *