Hungary Supports Pakistan Christians Suffering Attacks
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
BUDAPEST/ISLAMABAD (Worthy News) – Hungary, the only nation with a government secretary dedicated to persecuted Christians, has condemned attacks against the Christian community in eastern Pakistan.
Tristan Azbej, state secretary at the foreign ministry, said this month’s violence against Christians in Pakistan’s Jaranwala region by a Muslim mob “cannot be justified by any argument.”
Azbej added, “We are firmly committed to promoting a dialogue between different religions and cultures.” He expressed “sincere solidarity with Pakistan’s attacked Christian community.”
In remarks shared with Worthy News, he also welcomed comments by Pakistan’s caretaker prime minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar, condemning the attacks and pledging to bring the perpetrators to court
Pakistani authorities said they gave thousands of dollars to nearly 100 Christian families whose homes were destroyed or damaged by a Muslim mob angered over an alleged desecration of the Koran, deemed a holy book by Islam.
The Kakar government announced that each household was getting $6,800 in compensation. Separately, police said they arrested dozens more rioters in ongoing raids, bringing the total number of those detained over the attacks in the city of Jaranwala to 160.
Vast crowds of Muslims rampaged on August 16 over allegations that two Christian men had desecrated the Koran.
CHRISTIANS FLEEING
Christians who fled their homes to escape the attackers later returned to a scene of destruction. Many have been living outside since, fearing the burned structures may collapse.
The rampage that saw more than 100 Christian homes and churches being attacked was one of the most destructive in the country’s history and drew condemnation in the Islamic nation.
Kakar last week traveled to the area to meet some of the victims and hand out the compensation. He promised in a televised speech that the state would protect minorities, including Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, and Ahmadis.
Kakar said none of the rioters will go unpunished, describing those behind the attacks as “enemies of humanity.”
Yet, “They are worried for their safety, they are worried for their children, who witnessed the tragedy and are traumatized,” priest Khalid Mukhtar told reporters of the local Christians. All 26 churches in the Jaranwala region were attacked, burned, or damaged, he explained.
Over the weekend, angry Muslims reportedly also demanded the release of those detained, and hundreds of Christians near Pakistan’s capital fled their homes Friday amid fears of more violence.
“Almost all Christians of a Christian colony in the city of Rawalpindi, which is adjacent to [the capital] Islamabad, have left,” prominent human rights activist Farrukh Saif told Worthy News.
CARETAKER LEADER
The attacks against Christians came just days after the Pakistani government named Kakar as caretaker prime minister on Saturday, ahead of preparations for the country’s next general elections amid a year of political turmoil.
Kakar has close ties to the country’s powerful military, and his appointment suggested they remain powerful while trying to ease religious tensions amid international pressure.
Back in Hungary, a European Union nation that Pakistani refugees and others try to reach on their way to more welcoming and wealthier Western nations, the anti-migration government made clear it wants to support persecuted Christians first of all in their own country or region.
Hungary has also reached out to Christians in Africa and the Middle East, inviting Pope Tawadros II, head of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria.
Last week, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán met the church leader to “discuss the links and brotherhood between Eastern and Western Christians,” an official said.
“Orbán said that Hungary greatly emphasized supporting Christian communities worldwide,” explained his press chief Bertalan Havasi.
Pope Tawadros II reportedly thanked Orbán for Hungary’s help, including scholarships granted to Christian Egyptian students, “and noted the importance of supporting family values.”
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