Church bombings in Lahore

Once again a minority group has been targeted and once again the state failed in its duty to protect it

Two churches in Lahore were bombed shortly before noon on March 15. At the time of writing the number of deaths had reached 14 while 70 others suffered injuries. Two men said to have a connection to the bombers were beaten to death by an angry mob, though there is no conclusive evidence as to their connection. It is reported that one of those slain by the mob was set on fire. Water cannon were deployed on Ferozepur Road and protesters vandalised the Metro Bus system, forcing its closure. There were protests in Karachi and the mayhem following the attacks in Lahore is an unwelcome development as most of those involved in the destruction are themselves from the Christian community. Christian leaders have called for calm.



The attack was quickly claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan Jamaatul Ahrar and there is no reason to dispute the claim. Accusations of failure are flying on all sides, with the Christian community alleging that the police failed in their duty and instead of guarding the gates of the churches were instead in a shop watching the Pakistan-Ireland cricket match. The bombers were stopped at the gates of the churches by their own security guards, not the police, which might add credence to the claims. The churches were packed at the time and had the bombers got inside, the death toll would have been far greater. Once again a minority group has been targeted and once again there is at the very least a strong suspicion that the state failed in its duty to protect it. Unusually, the Christian community responded en masse and with violence to the attacks, and Christian leaders’ attempts to calm the situation fell largely on deaf ears. The attack was relatively sophisticated involving simultaneous attacks on two targets and yet again displays the capacity of Pakistani Taliban affiliates to wreak havoc and murder at will. This will not be the last time a vulnerable minority group is the target, and we can only hope that the next attempt to commit a similar atrocity is dealt with in a more competent manner by the law enforcement agencies.

Published in The Express Tribune, March  16^th,  2015.

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