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.