Nine Pakistani Christians who were arrested after being accused of being involved in the aftermath of the Youhanabad tragedy have been granted bail.

Lahore High Court heard from CLAAS’s lawyer Tahir Bashir who argued that the police had falsely implicated them in the case.

It granted Riaz Masih, Nazir Masih, Tariq Masih, Arshad Masih, Asif Masih, Ishfaq Masih, Tariq Masih, Namee Bhatti, and Yousaf Masih bail, and ordered them to pay a 200,000 rupees surety.

CLAAS had applied for the bail of 10 people, but Imran Latif bail was denied because a CDA machine which was fixed on metro bus was recovered from him, according to police.

CLAAS will now appeal the decision at the Supreme Court. In March two bomb blasts at churches in Youhanabad claimed 17 lives, leaving several others injured, and people are still trying to recover.

Life in Youhanabad today is still far from normal. There is a lot of fear and despair in the air. Many families are afraid to return to their homes because the local police are continuing to arrest Christians on mere suspicion and without any evidence.

Following the attacks Christians across the country took to the streets to protest, and some reports even suggest that they burnt alive those they believed to be involved in the attacks.

In response to this, the police started indiscriminately arresting Christians and putting them in jail. Many are still unaccounted for, and CLAAS is working to find out what has happened to them.