ICC Note: Christians in Pakistan fear future ISIS attacks on their community following the killing of a Christians family last week. ISIS militants took credit for the attack. In December 2017, ISIS suicide bombers attacked Bethel Memorial Methodist Church in Pakistan, killing nine. Pakistan’s government denies ISIS is active in the country, but that is little comfort to the community that feels targeted.

04/09/2018 Pakistan (Voice of America) – Pakistan’s Christian community has faced the brunt of some of the worst terrorist attacks in the country in recent years, but now the community fears another looming danger.

During the last few months, the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group, or Daesh, has claimed responsibility for two deadly attacks on the Christian community in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Baluchistan.

In Quetta, the provincial capital of Baluchistan, a Christian family was attacked on April 2, a day after Easter.

Gunmen killed four people, all members of one Christian family.

In December 2017, several days before Christmas, suicide bombers attacked a Christian church, killing at least nine people in the southwestern city of Quetta.

IS claimed responsibility for both attacks.

Nadeem Anthony, a Christian rights activist, told VOA that IS has become a new danger for the community.

“The Christian community is scared and concerned after [the] deadly attacks by Daesh. It is not acceptable,” Anthony noted. “If Daesh is active and involved in the attacks on the Christian community, then we (Christians) can’t do anything against this militant outfit. It’s the responsibility of the state to act against such a group.”

Pakistan denies the organized presence of IS in the country and said the state is committed to cracking down on all militant groups that threaten any community or sect.

But some quarters have expressed concern that IS is emerging as a threat.

…

For interviews with William Stark, ICC’s Regional Manager, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: [email protected].