| LOUISVILLE —
A Pakistani court has sentenced three Muslims to death after finding
them guilty of killing four women on the grounds of a Presbyterian
hospital near Islamabad in 2003.
The women died in a grenade attack after a chapel service on
Aug. 9, 2003, in Taxila. All were nurses at the hospital.
Three other men charged in the case were set free for lack of
evidence.
The Taxila hospital, founded in 1922, is supported by the Presbyterian
Church (USA) and the Presbyterian Church of Pakistan (PCP). It
specializes in eye diseases. Most of its patients are poor Muslims.
The Rev. Maqsood Kamil, executive secretary of the PCP, told
the Presbyterian News Service that the denomination is satisfied
with the verdicts. “It’s the government’s responsibility
to curb the terrorism,” he said, noting that the Christian
minority is not the only group to suffer in terrorist attacks,
that Muslims also have been killed.
Kamil said, however, that Christians take consolation in the
knowledge that the government intends to protect the rights of
minorities. “They are saying, ‘We will protect you;
if anybody comes after you, the government is going to take action,’”
Kamil said, adding that many Muslims have condemned crimes against
Christians.
According to Kamil, each of the three condemned men was fined
and given eight life sentences and four death sentences.
The Christian community in Pakistan has often been the target
of the violence, which has escalated since the United States attacked
Afghanistan. It is an expression of anti-western sentiment, according
to Raafat Zaki, the PC(USA)’s liaison to Pakistan.
No American missionaries were in the Taxila church at the time
of the attack.
Another Presbyterian church, about 10 miles from Islamabad,
was attacked on Christmas Day 2002, when a grenade was hurled
into the building. A nearby non-denominational school for the
children of American missionaries was forced to close.
After the sentence was handed down, Zaki said the PC(USA) is
“content with the apparent fair process” under which
the accused were prosecuted. He did express concern, however,
about the death penalty.
“Our prayers are with the victims and their families,
the perpetrators and their families, with the Christian community
and with the Pakistani community,” he said.
There have been three attempts on the life of Pakistani President
Pervez Musharraf in the past two months. |
