LAHORE: The boundary wall and some portions of the King of Kings Church were demolished in Sardar Town by the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) on Monday, which triggered protests by the Christian community.

The protesters blocked the Raiwind Road, suspending traffic for hours.

Locals and the church administration alleged that Nana Bhatti, a local influential, bulldozed the church. However, LDA officials told The Express Tribune that the church had been built illegally and that authority had never approved the plan.

Pastor Zafar, while talking to the Tribune, said, “A group of people came to the church at around 1 pm and demolished the boundary wall.” He said some copies of the Bible had been damaged. When asked who was behind the incident he said, “We suspect that Nana Bhatti is behind this because he was never in favour of a church in this area.” Pastor Zafar dismissed the LDA’s version, saying, “If the building of the church is illegal then so are the houses located around it. Why didn’t they demolish any other building except the church?”

Haroon , an eye-witness, said that some people, including women, tried to stop the demolition but they were beaten away. The Christians lodged an application with the Chuhng police station. No FIR had been registered till the filing of this report.

Kamran Micheal, the Human Rights and Minority Affairs minister, said that he had ordered an inquiry of the incident. “The LDA officials will submit the report within 24 hours. I have asked for the names of the officials involved,” he added. The minister assured the locals that the church will be paid damages. The demolished portions will be reconstructed, he said. At the minister’s assurance, the protesters dispersed.

Requesting anonymity, an official of the LDA, told The Express Tribune it had been a perfectly justified demolition operation against an illegal construction. “We were just doing our job,” he maintained. He, however, would not say who had ordered the demolition.