Quetta church attack

It may be hours before the numbers of dead and injured as the result of an attack on a Christian church in Quetta are known, but at the time of writing there are nine dead and about 30 injured. There is no claim of responsibility for the attack. What is emerging is that the law-enforcement agencies were both on-site and responded swiftly and decisively. They engaged at least two would-be suicide bombers and prevented them getting inside the church where 400 people were attending a service. One blew himself up at the entrance to the church having been shot by security forces, the other at the main gate according to reports.

Churches and their congregations have been targeted frequently over the 16 years since the massacre in Bahawalpur when 18 died and dozens were injured. Now is the time of year when Christians are preparing to celebrate the birth of Jesus with the festival of Christmas that is held across the world. It is a time of joy, merriment and feasting as well as being a profoundly spiritual event. That is going to be tinged with a strain of sorrow, and churches across the land will be looking to tighten their security — that is already tight anyway.

The attack underscores the vulnerability of minority groups in Pakistan whether they be cultural, religious or ethnic. None of them present any threat to the state or to Islam; they harbour no militant or extremist groups and generally lead peaceful and unobtrusive lives — the very softest of targets. Yet they continue to attract the bombers and killers who strike at their places of worship as they gather for prayer or a community event. In the aftermath of the Bahawalpur attack the killers claimed to be “retaliating for the attack on Afghanistan.” How that is linked to the deaths of 18 innocent men, women and children is unexplained. Why the Bethel Memorial Church was attacked — and it has been attacked before — is yet unknown. We must be thankful for the actions of the LEAs, who prevented an even greater tragedy, and offer our condolences to the relatives of the dead.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 18^th, 2017.

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