A Catholic bishops’ body has appealed the United Nations (UN) to intervene and stop the targeted attacks against Christians in India and neighbouring Pakistan. “Christians are increasingly becoming the target of riots and mob attacks in India and Pakistan,” said an Aug. 19 statement from the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC) based in the southern Indian state of Kerala.
The call for UN intervention comes as Manipur state in northeast India is gripped by sectarian violence since May 3 while mobs targeted Christian homes and churches at Jaranwala in Pakistan’s Punjab province on Aug. 16 following allegations of Koran desecration.
In Manipur, violence has reportedly claimed close to 200 lives and displaced over 50,000 people, many of them now staying in relief camps and jungles. Two Christian women were paraded naked and one among them was gang raped.
Over a dozen cases of atrocities again women had been registered during the violence but the number of such cases could be higher and victims may not be able to register complaints fearing retaliation, Church leaders said. The violence also led to the torching of hundreds of Churches and other Christian institutions including schools.