United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE
A statement issued by UN Spokesman Martin Nesirky said that the secretary general was "appalled" by the attack, which had reportedly killed more than 75 people and wounded over 100 others as they were attending Sunday mass.
"The secretary general condemns this atrocious bombing attack in the strongest possible terms," the statement said.
The secretary general said these acts of terror cannot be justified by any cause, and urged the government "to do everything possible to find and bring the perpetrators to justice".
"The secretary general extends his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims, the people and Government of Pakistan."
He reiterated the solidarity of the United Nations with the government's ongoing struggle against terrorism and extremism and urges the government to continue taking steps to build tolerance and strengthen relationships between diverse religious and ethnic communities in the country," the statement added.
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@Parvez: if ur children or family members die in drone attack would you call them a terrorist?
ET, Where is my rejoinder to @Sarmad's fallacious claim about Ban Ki moon not bothering to condemn drone attacks?
The culprits are most likely those secret hands against any political settlement and peace in Pakistan. These elements must be brought to justice. But why this south Korean ex. general do not condemn innocent Muslims being killed from Palestine to Myanmar and this man is utterly speechless. American stooge.
We send our deepest heartfelt condolences to the victims’ families. We hope that they will find the strength to deal with this tragedy. We cannot use words to describe the barbaric nature of this attack. We hope the culprits will be caught and punished to the fullest extent of the law. We repeat what Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said: “The terrorists have no religion, and targeting innocent people is against the teachings of Islam and all religions. Such cruel acts of terrorism reflect the brutality and inhumane mind set of the terrorists.” The terrorists remain fully focused on destabilizing the region with these acts of terror. But we will not let them break our shared will and desire to restore peace in the region.
Ali Khan DET, United States Central Command
Ban Ki-moon strongly condemned Sunday’s “atrocious” terrorist attack on a church in Peshawar and called on the government to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Both the provincial and the federal governments have refused to mention that they will bring the the perpetrators to justice, despite one having "justice" in its name. What a shame both parties are for Pakistan. As far the drones go, currently they are the only tool which does some justice to the terrorists involved in the heinous war crimes. Their scope as well as their frequency should be enlarged.
@Saleem... yes we dont belong to a minority of the society who do personal attacks :) . The states which have been supporting such acts like India and Burma did you requested UN to give them on notice and put the sanctions on them?
@Somnath yes i am with you! Killing of innocent people should not be allowed in any case!
He will not talk about drone strikes as Pakistan is letting use of its terrority to terrorists.
@Sarmad: so is Balochistan ,Kurdishtan,Western Sahara etc......
This incident is really Condemn able but this man should poke his nose is same incident which happen agaisnt Muslims. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
kindly condemn the massacre of 700 Egyptians by their military as well!
@Sunny And what is the civilian death ratio in the F-16 strikes conducted in the tribal belt by our army?
@Sunny... the thing is not what you and I think. The thing is that these so-called United Nations, G-20 and super powers come up only when they have their own objectives not when people need them. Otherwise Palestine and Kashmir were more important and older issues than Darfur, Iran and North Korea.
Simply condemning this act of terrorism is not good enough, Pakistan must be made to pay for not protecting its minorities, either the rest of the World must impose sanctions on Pakistan, or Nawaz Sharif should be made to stand in the corner holding his ears during the entire UN Meeting...
People who connect killing of innocent non-Muslims with the drone attacks not only have their logic wrong but also their morals............and display a naive sense of understanding of matters.
The Government is busy releasing perpetrators from jails and is initiating a dialogue with these perpetrators to appease them. Only drone attacks against these perpetrators can bring justice to the innocent lives lost in KP and Karachi.
Did you ever condemned the regular killing of innocent people by drones strikes?????????
@Sad at the moment: Drones are intended to kill terrorists who use innocent people as shield. Sadly its a collateral damage.
@JD & Sarmad, have u guys ever condemned F-16 strikes by our army in tribal belt as they are more deadly than drones,
It is none of his business.
Today's incident is definitely sad but why does he not speak on drone strikes in which hundreds of innocent women and children are killed.
Ban Ki-Moon ever had time to condemn Drone attacks?
We all condemn the attack too, and want the culprits to be hanged till death.
Now - how about condemning the drone attacks and bringing 'those culprits' to justice as well?