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GUNMEN ATTACK CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN SOUTHERN PAKISTANDear Friends, A church service in southeast Pakistan was interrupted Sunday by armed Muslim militants who sprayed the congregation with gunfire and killed at least 15 worshipers in cold blood. There were some 70 Protestant Christians gathered for regular Sunday morning services when six men on three motorcycles rode up to Saint Dominic's Church in Bahawalpur and pulled AK-47 assault rifles out of their bags, according to one witness. Shouting "Graveyard of Christians - Pakistan and Afghanistan!" and "This is just a start!", they killed one Muslim security guard before entering the church and shooting at random. Seven women and two children were among the dead. The victims also included the pastor of the church. Saint Dominic's is a Catholic church but a Protestant service was being held at the time of the attack. The area has a history of tensions between Sunni and Shia Muslim extremists, and hundreds of Muslims have died in sectarian violence over the years. But Sunday's shooting is the first such attack on Christians in the region, which is near the border with India. Christians in Pakistan had been afraid of such attacks as tension has increased greatly since the U.S. began bombing Afghanistan. Many Muslims around the world see the American bombing campaign and "declaration of war" against Islamic terrorism as a resumption of the medieval Christian Crusades. Throughout the Islamic world, there is a very widely held belief that the West, led by the USA, intends to contain or eradicate Islam and finish the job the Crusaders began. As a result, minority Christian populations in Islamic countries are in particular danger now, as this tragedy clearly indicates. MA World Evangelical Fellowship TERRORISTS KILL 15 CHRISTIANS DURING SUNDAY SERVICE IN PAKISTAN(Lahore, Pakistan - October 28, 2001) Bearded terrorists on motorcycles attacked St. Dominic Church, killing at least 15 worshipers and a police officer in the town of Bhawalpur, 225 miles south of Lahore. The attack occurred Sunday morning as an estimated 60 Christians had just begun their worship service. It was between 8:45 and 9:00 am that five bearded terrorists came on two motorcycles. After killing the guard at the Church gate they entered the main building where the service was in progress. The Pastor Rev. Emanuel was leading the prayer. The terrorist indiscriminately began firing for a period lasting about five minutes. Fifteen worshipers including the Pastor fell dead on the spot, holding Bible in his hands. Many more were seriously wounded, with three of the wounded later died from their injuries in Bhawalpur Victoria hospital. Including the security guard, an off duty policeman, a total of sixteen (16) innocent people died. Among the dead were women and children. This latest atrocious is believed to be an act of retaliation by Muslim militants who had made public their threats to kill two Christians for every Muslim killed by US forces in Afghanistan. A few days earlier, an application from the Church was sent to Deputy Inspector General Police (DIG), Meher Ghulam Qadir, requesting him to provide security at the Church gate. Sadly, the request fell on deaf ears. After the American military action in Afghanistan, religious intolerance and extremism has visibly increased in Pakistan. Though the Pakistani Christians are not less patriotic then other citizens, yet it is beyond comprehension as to why the Christians should be linked with America and other western countries that would warrant violent assaults against churches. Many incidents of religious terrorism and sectarian strife have been taking place for the last two decades in Pakistan. But today's attack was the most heinous of attacks by religious extremists against innocent Christians. St. Dominic Church was erected in 1961. There are also two Church run High Schools for boys and girls, which are educating both Muslim and Christian Children. The Church, like other organizations, have been making a significant contribution in the field of education at Bhawalpur. Sadly, the hard-line militants do not place any value to such kinds of benevolent gestures. Though no militant organization has taken responsibility of these gruesome killings, it is widely believed that it was the work of pro-Taliban Islamic militants who used sophisticated weapons to carryout this massacre. Major general Tahir Ali Qureshi GOC Bahawalpur, while visiting the scene of occurrence gave assurances to the Christians that the government would do everything to round up the perpetrators and punish them accordingly to the law of the land. Bahawalpur is the second largest city in the province of South Punjab and the location of several strongholds of Islamic militant organizations, such as the Sipa-e- Sahba Pakistan, Jaish-e- Mohammad, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and Lashkar-e-Tayyaba are situated. After the American military action began in Afghanistan, the above stated organizations, in their protesting processions, raised slogans of holy war against America and non-Muslim people whom they call infidels. These Islamic hard-line militant organizations are present everywhere in Pakistan. There is apprehension among the Christians of Pakistan that such murderous attacks will be repeated. The Christian minority is vulnerable to attacks by the Muslim militants. Source: INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN |
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