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A bomb attack by terrorists using the name of religion in Lahore on Easter Sunday marked the third time Christians have been targeted in Pakistan in three years, illustrating the vulnerability of people in the country.
World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit joined Pope Francis in urging Pakistan’s government to ensure its communities are better protected against fanatics.
“We are deeply shocked and saddened to receive the news of a suicide bomber killing more than 70 people and injuring more than 300 others at Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park in Lahore on the Easter Sunday,” Mathews George Chunakara, general secretary of the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA), wrote to Pakistan church leaders.
“The recent attack on innocent people, affecting mostly children and women, is a heinous crime,” he said in a solidarity letter after the attack, noting it followed other atrocities in recent years.
In his statement after the bombing, Tveit underlined, “The principle of freedom of religion and belief for all people must be affirmed and protected in Pakistan, and throughout the world, as a fundamental ethical and legal responsibility of government.”
In Pakistan, Christians are a tiny minority, accounting for an estimated 1.6 percent of the population, where Muslims make up 96 percent of the population of almost 200 million people. Lahore is the city in the country with the most Christians.
“It is unfortunate that sectarian violence and blatant terrorism continuously take place in Pakistani society due to widespread religious hatred,” wrote George Chunakara in his letter.
“Such cowardly actions in fact destroy the very core of the social fabric and communal harmony in the country. The recent attack on innocent people, affecting mostly children and women, is a heinous crime.”
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a breakaway faction from the Taliban that supports the group calling itself ISIS, or Daesh, claimed responsibility and said it specifically targeted Christians.
Most of those killed were Muslims who also had been in the popular park for the holiday, the Catholic Herald newspaper reported. Many women and children were among the victims.
The CCA expressed deep concern about the plight of the minority Christians in Pakistan who constantly face deadly attacks “but the perpetrators continue with impunity.”
The CCA general secretary wrote, “We are also reminded now of the suicide attacks carried out in 2013 at All Saints Church in Peshawar’s Kohati Gate area, killing 80 and wounding hundreds, as well as other suicide bombings at two churches in Youhanabad area in March 2015.
“These incidents are clear indications of the vulnerable situations in which Christians in Pakistan are forced to live.”
Bishop Samuel Azariah, President Bishop of Church of Pakistan, actively promotes interfaith activities but warned the Lahore atrocity will weaken peaceful and harmonious relations between Christians and Muslims.
“It is unfortunate that these inhuman terrorists identify themselves as Muslims and by performing such barbaric acts damage the image of their faith community,” said the bishop, commenting on the bombing.
“In a context of this nature, it is the primary responsibility of our majority brothers and sisters from the Muslim community to identify, silence and eliminate this minority.”
The growing trend of attacks against innocent people in Pakistan raised questions over the security measures by the government to protect the lives of its citizens, said George Chunakara.
“It is our sincere appeal to the government of Pakistan not to allow these savage inhuman actions to overrun the lives of people who have every right to live in peace, security and freedom of movement.”
The UN special investigator on freedom of religion or belief had earlier in March called for the universal repeal of blasphemy laws, saying they restrict freedom of expression and promote hatred of and intolerance toward minority religions.
In a report submitted to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Heiner Bielefeldt said freedom of religion and freedom of expression are mutually reinforcing, allowing both rights to flourish, but that blasphemy laws weaken such basic rights.
He noted that Pakistan is known for its harsh blasphemy laws, some of which carry the death penalty.
