Troops patrol Pakistani town after religious violence

Aug 2, 2009, 9:20 GMT

   Islamabad - Paramilitary troops patrolled through a town in Pakistan's southern Punjab province Sunday after the overnight killing of eight Christians in riots over alleged desecration of the Koran.

   A large mob of Muslims ransacked and set fire to dozens of houses in a Christian neighbourhood in the town of Gojra on Saturday when an armed clash broke out between the two communities.

   Six people, including four women and a child, were burnt to death while two victims succumbed to injuries in the hospital, police officer Abdul Saboor told German Press Agency dpa over the phone.

   'Rangers (paramilitary force) and police are patrolling the streets and the situation in the town is calm but tense,' Saboor said.

   Punjab's minister for law said security agencies had made some arrests after identifying the perpetrators, but he did not give any number for the detentions.

   Terrorist organizations operating in the country instigated the violence, Rana Sanaullah told reporters on Sunday while visited the gutted houses. 'Now the extremist forces have adopted this tactic to destabilize Pakistan.'

   Sanaullah denied any incident of desecration taking place in Gojra.

   Television footage showed Christian community members wailing and seeking the strictest punishment for the attackers.

   Federal Minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti on Saturday blamed the local administration for the killings and the destruction, as his requests for deployment of security forces in the wake of continuing tension went unanswered.

   Although Muslims and minority Christian community have clashed in the past, mostly over rumours of blasphemy, they generally live in harmony across the country.