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O 210957Z OCT 09
FM AMCONSUL LAHORE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4205
INFO RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD IMMEDIATE 4901
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL IMMEDIATE 0507
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RUEHPW/AMCONSUL PESHAWAR PRIORITY 1844
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RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUMICEA/USCENTCOM INTEL CEN MACDILL AFB FL
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEHLH/AMCONSUL LAHORE PRIORITY 5364

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LAHORE 000204 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KIRF PK
SUBJECT: CHRISTIANS DEMAND JUSTICE FROM PUNJAB PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT 
 
REF: (A) LAHORE 158; (B) LAHORE 162; (C) LAHORE 165 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Summary.  On October 5, Christian villagers from 
Gojra made a show of rejecting USAID winterization kits and 
demanded justice after Muslim mobs burned houses in two 
Christian villages in August, killing eight people.  Frustrated 
by the release on bail of a man arrested in connection with the 
attacks and angry at the Punjab provincial government, Gojra 
Christians attempted to use the media presence at a distribution 
event to air their grievances against the Punjab government. 
End Summary. 
 
--- 
Background 
--- 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  On July 31 approximately 400 Muslims attacked Korian 
village, Gojra Tehsil, Toba Tek Singh district, central Punjab 
province, in retaliation for alleged desecration of the Quran. 
The mob set fire to and destroyed 51 houses.  A similar mob 
attacked Gojra Christian Colony, Gojra village, the following 
day, ransacking and burning 68 homes and killing eight people, 
according to Faisalabad Commissioner Tahir Hussain.  According 
to Aman Ullah Khan, District Coordination Officer (DCO), Toba 
Tek Singh District, the Punjab government established two relief 
camps after the attacks with medical facilities for the victims. 
 They provided 500,000 Pakistani Rupees (USD 6,100) to the 
families of the deceased and 100,000 Pakistani Rupees (USD 
1,200) to 149 other affected families, most of whom lost their 
homes.  Reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts by the 
provincial government total 190 million Pakistani Rupees (USD 
2.3 million) for the two affected communities.  At a cost of 3 
million Pakistani Rupees (USD 36,500), Punjab government 
provided cooked food to all families for the first month after 
the attacks.  At the request of the communities, it now provides 
dry rations to the affected families, according to the 
Faisalabad Commissioner.  District officials noted that they had 
compensated a Muslim family for the death of a man in 
retaliatory violence by members of the Christian community. 
They were convinced that the dead man had nothing to do with the 
violence against the Christians. 
 
--- 
Provincial Representatives Provide Update on Relief 
--- 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  On October 5 Principal Officer (PO) and others from 
Consulate Lahore met with religious and political leaders in 
Faisalabad and Toba Tek Singh districts, Punjab province. 
Literacy Secretary Haseeb Athar, assigned by Punjab Chief 
Minister Shahbaz Sharif to assist the district administration 
with rehabilitation activities, informed us that reconstruction 
of destroyed homes is 75 percent complete.  He estimated 
reconstruction of affected homes will be complete by the end of 
October.   Members of the villages whose homes were not part of 
the initial survey have requested new homes, some going to the 
extreme of destroying their current homes, according to Athar. 
His team identified eight additional homes in Korian and 38 in 
Gojra for a second phase of reconstruction that will begin when 
funds become available.  Two representatives of the Christian 
League of Pakistan, including dual nationals Anjum Bhatti and 
"Bishop" Jonathan Rehmat, participated in a lunch hosted by the 
Faisalabad Commissioner.  Bhatti had hung banners welcoming the 
consulate delegation at the lunch venue, and pulled aside the PO 
for pictures in front of the banner.  Rehmat demanded the PO 
take the provincial government to task for ongoing insults 
against the Christian community.  Rehmat claimed reparations 
paid to the family of the Muslim man killed in retaliatory 
violence were particularly vile.  The Commissioner and Local 
Governance Minister responded somewhat heatedly.  Roman Catholic 
Bishop for Faisalabad defused the situation by saying a blessing 
over the lunch. 
 
- - - 
Justice, Not Aid 
- - - 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance 
provided 149 winterization kits that included blankets, sleeping 
mats, mosquito nets and kitchen supplies for distribution to 
affected families at Gojra Catholic Church on October 5. 
Representatives from each affected family, provincial and 
 
LAHORE 00000204  002 OF 002 
 
 
district governments as well as Christian and Muslim leaders 
participated.   As Dost Muhammad Khosa, Local Government 
Minister and representative of the Chief Minister, spoke, 
members of the crowd stood up and started to demand justice. 
Several held banners that said, in English, "Give us Justice, 
Not Aid" and "Stop the massacre of Christians in Pakistan" while 
chanting slogans against the provincial government.  Note:  It 
is unusual for villagers to communicate in anything other than 
their regional language.  The Commissioner and we noticed that 
the protestors' banners were identical in color and lettering to 
the banners Bhatti displayed earlier at the lunch venue.  End 
Note. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The crowd remained quiet while the PO spoke and began 
the gift distribution.  Ten families, five from Gojra Christian 
Colony and five from Korian village, were identified by the 
Faisalabad Commissioner to receive representative kits, which 
included a box of kitchen supplies.  During the distribution, a 
large crowd gathered, trying to get on the stage and chanting 
slogans against the Punjab government.  As PO was handing over 
the tenth representative box, someone from the crowd threw a box 
into the distribution area.  At that point, provincial 
government leaders and we left Gojra Catholic Church, unable to 
distribute the kits as planned.  The pastor of the church and 
Bishop of Faisalabad were mortified by the scene, and have since 
apologized to us, blaming "outsiders" for misleading their flock. 
 
- - - 
Comment: Different Agendas at Play, Tensions Remain 
- - - 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  Christian community members tried to take advantage 
of the media presence to criticize the Punjab government's 
handling of this incident and possibly to leverage greater 
assistance.  The English-language banners, drawn by the same 
hand responsible for Bhatti's Christian League of Pakistan 
banners, were circumstantial evidence that Bhatti was working 
with the protestors. 
 
Despite reconstruction efforts and continued assistance by the 
Punjab provincial government, Gojra Christians want reassurances 
that the government will prevent future attacks.  The 
protestors' attempt to serve their larger agenda backfired.  The 
assembled journalists, photographers and video cameramen focused 
on the Christians' disruption of the event, which culminated in 
a few men throwing and stomping on boxes, before walking away 
with blankets and other assistance goods.  Post will continue to 
urge the provincial government to bring the perpetrators to 
justice and monitor reconstruction in Gojra. 
CONROY