Pakistan: Supreme Court to take Jaranwala blasphemy case today

Islamabad [Pakistan], September 8 (ANI): Pakistan's Supreme Court has constituted a three-member bench that will take up the case of arson and rampage in the Jaranwala incident on Friday, Geo News reported. 
The Jaranwala incident took place on August 16 where a crowd vandalised over 21 churches and set more than a hundred houses in Jaranwala on fire after clerics made announcements in the mosques inciting the mob to attack the Christian community under allegations of blasphemy. 
Moreover, 10,000 Christians were moved immediately and 20,000 were affected by the incident. 
Moreover, Justice Ijaz-Ul-Ahsan will preside over the bench, comprising Justice Muneeb Akhtar and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail. 
According to Geo News, minority leader Samuel Pyaray moved the Supreme Court under a miscellaneous petition, to take notice of the Jaranwala tragedy.
However, this is the second time that the petition has been scheduled for a hearing. 
Last month, the Chief Justice of Pakistan Bandial had constituted a three-member bench that was supposed to take up the case on August 22, however, it was noted that the Supreme Court deferred the hearing on the issue as the Human Rights Cell did not receive the police report on the incident. 
Petitioner Pyaray said, "I was told by the Supreme Court that the case is scheduled for hearing tomorrow [Tuesday] but if was informed later that the Human Rights Cell report on the incident has not yet been received which is why the hearing will not be held." 
After the attack, the Christian families spent the night in the fields as well as the desolate places to save their lives as their houses were burnt to the ground and were attacked. 
Whereas, some of the families moved to other areas to live with their relatives. 
Over 600 unidentified people were included in the investigation, out of which 37 suspects were nominated. 
Two cases have been registered under charges of terrorism and blasphemy including 13 other provisions, Geo News reported. 
A day after the incident, two suspects of inciting violence were arrested by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD). 
Earlier this week, Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP) strongly condemned the attack on Christians in Pakistan in the Jaranwala violence.
The HRFP expressed its concerns about the recent threats and fears of Christians in Pakistan which are rooted in the Jaranwala incident.
The incident gained worldwide attention when last week, the Overseas Pakistani Christian Alliance (OPCA) and Global Human Rights Defence (GHRD) organized a major demonstration in the Netherlands’ The Hague to voice their concerns over the recent attack on churches and Christian settlements in Pakistan. 
According to the press release from Global Human Rights Defence (GHRD), the event culminated in a gathering in front of the Pakistani Embassy at Amaliastraat and a total of 162 people from the Netherlands, France and Belgium took part in the protest on Wednesday. (ANI)