| NEW DELHI —
Christian leaders in Pakistan are threatening to launch nationwide
protests after the killing of two pastors in recent months, bringing
the total number of Christians killed in Pakistan over the past
four years to almost four dozen.
“We would be forced to launch an agitation if the killers
of the two priests are not arrested within seven days,”
said the Christian leaders, who include Bishop John Victor Mall
of the United Church of Pakistan, the India-based Hindustan
Times reported on Jan. 12. “A judicial commission should
be formed to investigate the incidents.”
The warning comes after evangelical pastor Mukhtar Masih was
shot dead by unidentified gunmen on Jan. 5, in Khanewal, northern
Pakistan, and the killing last July of Roman Catholic priest George
Ibrahim of the Faisalabad diocese in the northeast.
Attacks on church targets in Muslim-majority Pakistan have increased
since October 2001, the date that marks the launch of attacks
by the United States and its allies on perceived terrorist targets
in Afghanistan, Pakistan’s neighbor. Altogether 46 Christians
are believed to have been killed in the past four years.
“The murder of yet another Christian only adds to our
feelings of insecurity,” said Victor Azariah, general secretary
of the National Council of Churches of Pakistan, which groups
four major Protestant churches, including Presbyterians. “Whatever
be the reason, murder or violence can never be justified in a
civilized society.”
Masih was murdered, according to some reports, over the use
of loudspeakers to announce daily prayer services at his church,
in defiance of police warnings and Muslim opposition. About 97
per cent of Pakistan’s 150 million people are Muslims.
“Exercise of our religious freedom should not disturb
other communities,” noted Azariah.
Hundreds of Christians of all denominations took part in a protest
demonstration atMasih’s funeral on Jan. 6 demanding the
arrest of the pastor’s killers and condemning continued
violence against Pakistan’s religious minorities.
A statement issued by the Justice and Peace Commission, a Roman
Catholic body, said that robbery was not a motive for Masih’s
killing since a large amount of cash the pastor was carrying had
been left untouched.
“The incident has added to the terrorism attacks against
Christians,” the statement said. “This clearly shows
that the government has failed to control terrorism in this country.”
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