GOJRA: No Christmas decorations brighten the tent camp sheltering Christians left homeless by the worst violence against minorities in Pakistan this year. Instead, there is a pervasive sense of fear.

The Christians have received cell phone text messages warning them to expect a “special Christmas present”, they said, and are terrified of their tents being torched or their church services being bombed.

“Last year I celebrated Christmas full of joy,” said Irfan Masih, cradling his young son among the canvas shelters and open ditches of the camp. “But now the fear that we may again be attacked is in our hearts,” he added.

Still threatened: “They are threatening us, [saying] ‘we will again attack you and will not let you out of your homes, we will burn you inside this time’,” he said.

It was the fires that most traumatised Gojra’s Christian Colony, about 350 kilometres southwest of Islamabad. In early August, hundreds rampaged through the dirt streets, looting and torching homes as panicked Christian residents tried to flee and thick black smoke rose into the air.

Eight Christians died seven of them from one family trapped in a burning house.

“We are going to celebrate Christmas in sorrow because the whole family is hurt by this,” said Almas Hameed, whose father was shot dead during the riots. His wife, two of his children and members of his brother’s family all burned to death.

The attack, which officials said was incited by banned radical group Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan followed rumours that Christians had torn pages from the Quran.

The ensuing carnage drew condemnation from the Pope and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, and highlighted how religious extremism had left the country’s minority groups increasingly vulnerable.

Christians Protestants and Catholics among them make up less than 5 percent of Pakistan’s 175 million people.

Christians said more than 100 homes were burned and looted in Gojra and the nearby village of Korian. While many homes had been rebuilt using state money, dozens of families were still living in tents, waiting for construction on their houses to finish.

Many complain they see no justice, noting that there have been no convictions of anyone involved in the rioting. They said those who led the mob were well-known in the town, but were left untouched.

Minority Rights Group International, a watchdog organisation, lists Pakistan as seventh on the list of 10 most dangerous countries for minorities.