2012-01-17 16:09:29

Pakistan Bishops reject government land offer as lies


(January 17, 2012) Pakistan’s Christian leaders in Lahore, have rejected claims by local authorities that the recent seizure and demolition of a Catholic Church property was in fact a move to kick out a land grabber. Provincial Minister for Minorities Kamran Michael announced on Sunday that the action taken at the Gosha e Aman missionary institute was a land retrieval operation ordered by the chief minister against criminal elements. He said the chief minister wanted to give the Church 1,264 square meters of adjacent land for welfare services and to reconstruct a school and a home for the elderly. He added that some people were deliberately trying to mislead the Christian community. However, Catholic Bishop Sebastian Shah of Lahore and Church of Pakistan Bishop Alexander John Malik dismissed the government’s version of events and its offer of land. “They said nobody owned the land and mysterious activities were happening here; it’s a pack of lies. We were kept in dark”, said Bishop Malik during a protest on Monday in front of the demolished building. More than 2,000 people including bishops, priests and pastors shouted anti-government slogans and blocked traffic close to the demolition site for two hours. Several Catholic priests demanded a judicial inquiry.







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