According to the report from the World NEWS at least 15 people, including two policemen, were killed and over 80 others injured when two Taliban suicide bombers attacked two packed churches during the Sunday mass in Pakistan’s biggest Christian colony here in one of the worst attacks on the minority community.
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a faction of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attacks. The AP quoted the faction’s spokesperson, Ahsanullah Ahsan, as saying: “There will be more of such attacks.
This is not for the first time Pakistan’s small Christian minority has faced a litany of obstacles in recent years. The deadliest occurred in September 2013, when at least 80 worshippers were killed at a historic church in the restive northwestern city of Peshawar.
To the news from the multiple sources, the bombs exploded outside Roman Catholic and Protestant churches, killing at least 15 and wounding an estimated 80 people. Only for the quick actions of a security guard on duty, the death toll from these blasts would have been higher. Hospital officials said about 30 of those wounded in the attack are in critical condition.
In Pakistan, Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, is widely regarded as Pakistan’s cultural capital. It is the political stronghold of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and has been relatively peaceful amid the recent surge of violence in Pakistan.
In a statement Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, whose government held unsuccessful peace talks with the TTP last year, strongly condemned Sunday’s attack, according to a statement from his office.Sharif asked provincial governments to tighten security and “take all possible measures” to protect people and property.
According to the total population, Christians make up around two percent of Pakistan’s mainly Muslim population of 180 million. They have been targeted in attacks and riots in recent years, often over allegation of profanity regarding the Koran or the Prophet Mohammed.
Multiple news sources also reported that irate protesters attacked people whom they suspected of being behind the explosions. After the deadly attack, Christians also took to the streets in other cities, including Pakistan’s largest city Karachi, where around 200 protesters blocked a main road and burnt tires. Protesters also set fire to cars, attacked buses and shops, and chased away police and politicians.