Pope appeals for peace

VATICAN CITY (AFP/Reuters) - Pope Benedict XVI on Monday urged Pakistanis to turn their backs on violence after seven Christians were killed in bloody riots in the country.
In the name of God, (the pope) calls on everyone to renounce the violence that has caused so much suffering and start working towards peace, said a telegramme from Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone in the name of Benedict.
The head of the Roman Catholic Church was deeply saddened to learn of the senseless attack against the Christian community of Gojra, the remote village in Gojra where the violence occurred, the message said.
He sent condolences to the families of the victims and urged Pakistani Christians to build a society where all communities displayed mutual respect towards each other.
The seven Christians were killed when an angry mob of Muslims torched 40 houses and a church on Saturday in Gojra which is 160 kilometres west of Lahore.
The violence broke out over the alleged desecration of the Holy Quran.
Meanwhile, missionary schools in Pakistan closed on Monday for three days to mourn the deaths of seven Christians.
We are mourning the death of innocent people in Gojra and have closed our schools in Karachi for three days from today, said Saleem Michael, an official of the Catholic Board of Education in countrys financial capital.
The board controls about 62 schools in Karachi where around 50,000 students are enrolled, Michael said.
We believe in peace, so we are protesting against the Gojra tragedy in a peaceful manner, he said.
Christians staged small protests in several cities and towns on Monday, calling on authorities to punish the perpetrators of violence against their community.
Shahbaz Bhatti, minister for minorities, said authorities were looking into reports that masked men armed with explosives were at the forefront of the violence.
Allegations of desecration of the Holy Quran, which were used as an excuse by banned groups to foment such a big scale of violence, were baseless and without grounds, he told a news conference on Monday.
Two children - a brother and sister aged six and 13 - their parents and 75-year-old grandfather were burnt to death after the mob locked them inside a room of their house, Father Shabbir Bashir told AFP by telephone from Gojra.
Ayub Sajid, a Christian community leader in Multan, said 13 missionary schools due to re-open after the holidays in central Punjab would remain closed for three days to mourn and protest the killings.
President Asif Ali Zardari has announced compensation of Rs500,000 to relatives for each person killed, Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti told a news conference in Islamabad.
He said the government would also pay Rs300,000 to those whose houses were torched.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has ordered an inquiry into the alleged desecration of the Holy Quran and appealed to residents of the area to remain calm.