LAHORE, Pakistan — Arson is suspected in a March 30 church fire in Pakistan that occurred after an individual threatened to prevent the observance of Christ’s resurrection.
The predawn blaze burned the contents of the United Presbyterian Junior Church in Gujar Khan in Pakistan’s Rawalpindi District, report the news services Christian Daily International and Morning Star News.
“We strongly suspect that it’s a case of arson,” Adeem Alphonse, pastor of the church, told the news services, “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.”
According to the news services, Christians protested the police assessment of the incident and called for a “transparent investigation.”
Prior to the blaze, a Muslim businessman wanting to acquire the church property for a development had threatened to prevent an Easter celebration, the pastor said.
The day before the fire, the man tried to disrupt the church’s Good Friday service, Alphonse stated.
Because of damage to the church building, the congregation’s worship service that Sunday was held in the basement of the Jinnah Hotel, Alphonse said.
Pakistan is No. 7 on Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List of places most difficult to be a Christian.
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