ICC Note:
Churches in Lahore, a city located in eastern Pakistan, closed their doors as a precautionary measure after a suicide bomber attacked a protest on Monday. As a result of the attack, at least 13 people were killed and another 85 were wounded. The terrorist group that took credit for the suicide attack are also known for their attacks on Christians and their places of worship. Last year, the same group sent a suicide bomber to Gulshan Iqbal Park in Lahore where Christians were celebrating Easter. That attack killed over 70 people, included 14 Christians. In 2015, the terrorist targeted two churches in Youhanabad, a Christian majority neighborhood in Lahore.
02/15/2017 Pakistan (Crux) – After a suicide bomber killed at least 13 people and left 85 wounded in an attack on Monday outside the Punjab Assembly in Lahore, Pakistan, Catholic leaders have reacted with indignation and concern, closing schools and even the Lahore cathedral as precautionary measures.
The attack was claimed by the Jamat-ul-Ahrar, a faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, the same group that bombed a park frequented by Christians last Easter Sunday, killing 74 persons including at least 14 Christian men, women and children.
“It is really very shocking and heartbreaking news that one again Lahore has become the target of terrorists,” said Dominican Father James Channan, director of a church-affiliated Peace Center in Lahore.
“Pakistan has been an easy target of the militant groups for the past several years, [and] I condemn this act of terror in the strongest words,” Channan said.
He blamed the Pakistan government for what he described as a lethargic response to the threat.
“The government has claimed that a warning was issued on February 7 that such an attack was expected, and the warning of higher alert was issued,” he said, describing that as a “lame excuse.”
“Such an excuse was also given last year on Easter Sunday,” Channan said.
“At this moment of shock and grief there is a grave need that all law enforcing agencies should sit together and apprehend these terrorist and extremist groups and bring them to justice,” he said. “These groups are already known to the government.”
“I express my condolences with all those who have lost their dear ones, and I pray for the speedy recovery of all those who are injured,” Channan said. “All peace-loving groups and organizations condemn this bomb blast.”
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