Christian community leaders in Faisalabad, Pakistan, have expressed worry about what they see as unfair policing and stereotyping in the anti-drug campaign in Punjab province. They claim that minority members have been targeted with raids and false drug-related cases over the last two months. The Minority Rights Movement (MRM) chief and other Christian leaders highlighted their support for combating drug abuse but criticized the portrayal of Christians as hubs of drug activities.
At a press conference in Faisalabad, the leaders alleged that drugs like heroin, hashish, and ice are being wrongly associated with the Christian community through unfounded police actions and social media campaigns. They cautioned that such narratives could lead to the criminalization and increased social bias against the Christian community. The leaders urged authorities to step in, ensuring fairness in law enforcement and intelligence sharing.
The speakers pointed out a discrepancy where religious minorities, under the law, are permitted to buy and sell alcohol but are being detained on drug charges. They emphasized that labeling alcohol as a drug by any state agency, such as the police, would violate the law. Lala Robin Daniel, a prominent Christian leader, criticized the targeting of their community with fabricated drug cases, calling it a perilous form of discrimination against the minority group.
Daniel highlighted instances where Christian community members with legal alcohol licenses were falsely implicated in drug-related activities like heroin and hashish dealings. He warned that these baseless cases could tarnish the entire Christian community’s reputation as criminal. Allegations were made that the police were inflating drug-related statistics by filing false charges against Christians, leading to numerous community members facing fabricated narcotics allegations.
