Pakistan (MNN) — Mob violence and protests in Pakistan foiled the arrest of ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan. Police clashed with Khan’s supporters outside his home for two days before the Pakistani court temporarily suspended arrest orders yesterday.
Khan has repeatedly skipped court hearings on charges of selling State gifts. He was ousted in April last year after a no-confidence vote in his leadership.
Imran Khan, former Prime Minister of Pakistan (Photo courtesy of Chatham House, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
This latest surge of violence goes to show the power of the mob in Pakistan. It’s a picture of a growing trend.
Nehemiah* with FMI says mob violence and Muslim extremism has infected Pakistan’s streets.
“Muslims in Pakistan, they have adopted this ‘mob-ism’ where…the mob of people will just go and kill people. This culture of mob in Pakistan is growing like anything. These Muslims will just come and kill anybody in Pakistan, and the situation is nobody arrests them because there is a fear of TTP [Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan],” says Nehemiah.
“Pakistan was already struggling with economic crisis, with political instability. On top of that, people are facing day-to-day terrorist activities. The people are dying. They’re afraid to go to work.”
For local Christians FMI supports, life is increasingly dangerous in light of growing “mob-ism.”
Nehemiah says, “The Pakistani government has asked the local churches that they have to establish their own security of the churches. The government has said they cannot protect Christian churches anymore…so Christians, the youth, young boys, they are acting like security guards in Pakistani churches now.”
The only thing to stem the swelling mob tide will be changed hearts. Pray for the people of Pakistan to have their eyes opened by the Gospel.
Header photo of Lahore, Pakistan where Khan’s supporters clashed with police. (Photo courtesy of Syed Bilal Javaid via Unpslash)
*Full name withheld for security.
