Pakistani brothers arrested for blasphemy after mob burns churches

Pakistani police have arrested two Christian brothers accused of blasphemy, a spokesperson and a source said on Friday, two days after a Muslim mob burnt churches and houses, blaming the two men for desecrating the Holy Quran.

Pages of the Koran were found in a street with derogatory comments written on them in red, police said. One attached extra page also carried the names, addresses and national identity card numbers of the accused, provincial police chief Usman Anwar said.

Police were investigating all angles as to why the names and addresses would be attached, he told Reuters. A court ordered the two suspects to be held in police custody for seven days for questioning, a government spokesperson said.

Blasphemy is punishable by death in Pakistan but no one has ever been executed. Numerous accused have been lynched by outraged mobs. A former provincial governor and a minister for minorities were shot dead for trying to reform the blasphemy law.

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwar ul Haq Kakar said on Friday that minorities had to be protected at all costs, promising to take action against those involved in violence.

Police said they have so far rounded up 128 people involved in the mob attack.

Residents said thousands of Muslims led by local clerics were seen carrying iron rods, sticks and daggers during the violence.

It started after someone took the desecrated pages of the Quran to a mosque prayer leader, which was followed by announcements calling for punishment, residents and police said.

Hundreds of Christians who fled the settlement have since started returning home, Akmal Bhatti, a community leader, told Reuters.