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Apr 01, 2013

Christians in Pakistan Targeted Again

The Christian community of Peshawar gathered together on March 11, 2013 at St. John’s Cathedral, Peshawar. Both Christians and Muslims from all denominations assembled in the compound of the Cathedral. People from all parts of Peshawar, and other towns kept coming in small or large groups, and were chanting slogans against the incident.

 

However, the Rt. Revd. Humphrey S. Peters, Bishop of Peshawar, called every group inside the Church, and after the Worship, he advised the people to stay calm and avoid chaos.

 

On March 9, the Christian community in Pakistan was once again under fire as, literally, 178 homes in Joseph Colony, Badami Bagh, were torched by the Muslim extremists. The continued strife between Muslims and Christians comes under the shadow of the Blasphemy law in Pakistan and took place in the urban center of Lahore, shocking minorities and civil society alike. This incident was highly condemned and was followed by protest rallies all over the country.

 

Every now and then, church officials in Pakistan say, Christians are prosecuted for blasphemy, but investigations never find sufficient evidence to continue the charges. Nevertheless, Christians are sometimes victims of personal vendettas in the garb of blasphemy law of the land.

 

The Christian community of Peshawar gathered outside St. John’s Cathedral in Peshawar on March 11 in a protest that threatened to go out of hand but, the Rt. Revd. Humphrey S. Peters called them to worship inside the church and called for calm. Eventually, Peters led more than 2000 Christians in a peaceful march to show their solidarity with the victims of the Lahore incident.

 

Addressing the rally in front of Peshawar Press Club, Bishop Peters said that the present government has failed to provide security to minorities. In the recent past, two churches and 178 houses and their assets have been burnt as well as copies of the Bible. He called authorities to take serious steps to increase support to ensure no recurrence of the violence.

 

“Some believe that what can an unarmed minority achieve? But they forget that it’s the minorities that count, and have always changed the world by fighting injustices and create awareness among the masses. And, today’s media helps their cause by informing millions and millions all over the world,” he said.