Aug. 21 (UPI) -- Pakistan's government will offer financial compensation to Christians whose homes were damaged or destroyed in a religious riot last week.
Punjab chief caretaker minister Mohsin Naqvi joined provincial ministers, several secretaries, senior officials and local commissioners for the unusual prayer service at the AEC Church at Isa Nagari on Sunday in Jaranwala before meeting to announce the aid.
It was the first time the government had ever held a meeting at a house of worship and was widely seen as an extraordinary moment of comity between the Muslim-dominated state and the Christian community.
Naqvi posted a statement to Twitter, expressing "solidarity with our Christian brethren," and included a photograph of Islamist government leaders standing shoulder to shoulder with Christian parishioners in a show of "unity and inclusivity," he said.
A prayer was held before Naqvi moved into official government proceedings, vowing the state would pay equivalent of about $24,000 to individuals to cover property losses after a mob set fire to churches and homes in a majority Christian enclave last Wednesday due to allegations of blasphemy.
The rampage happened in the east of the country, on the outskirts of the industrial city of Faisalabad, where it was rumored that the Koran had been desecrated.
No deaths were reported, but at least four churches were burned, and as many as a dozen religious buildings were damaged as the angry mob ransacked the city.
Four days after the uprising, government officials arrived in the province in an attempt to reconcile after the episode left the Christian community "deeply pained and distressed," according to religious leaders who witnessed the attacks.
Naqvi said two damaged churches were repaired within 72 hours, while on Sunday he ordered the swift reconstruction of another two facilities, including the Association of Evangelical Churches of Pakistan.
The compensation funds to homeowners would be available within about 48 hours, he said.
Naqvi called for the perpetrators of the riot to be arrested and punished, before he and Cabinet ministers visited several sites around Jaranwala, including a campground at Daanish School, where the nation's leaders met with families who fled the violence.
Vice President Sen. Sherry Rehman led a separate delegation to Jaranwala, where she called the incident an embarrassment to the nation.
"What transpired in Jaranwala on Aug. 16 has not only saddened Pakistanis but has also left Muslims across the globe in a state of deep regret," she said. "The scenes we witnessed are heart-wrenching. Today, on behalf of the Peoples Party leadership and its workers, I stand here to extend our unwavering support and solidarity to the people of Jaranwala. This attack is not only on the Christian community but also on the reputation and sovereignty of Pakistan."
On the day of the riot, police rounded up more than 100 suspects in the disorderly crowd and arrested two local Christian residents for violation of blasphemy laws after a particular Koran had its pages defaced and torn out before the book was found discarded near a Christian colony.
Blasphemy is a life-or-death matter in Pakistan, with insults toward Islam or Islamic figures punishable by execution under a strict 1980s law that arose from the British colonial period to punish those who disparage the dominant religion.
About 96% of Pakistan's population is Muslim.
