Lahore church bombings

Last updated

Lahore church bombings
لاہور گرجہ گھر دھماکے
Pakistan - Punjab - Lahore.svg
Location of Lahore in Punjab
Location Lahore, Pakistan
Coordinates 31°24′41″N74°21′58″E / 31.411291°N 74.366078°E / 31.411291; 74.366078
Date15 March 2015
TargetRoman Catholic Church, Christ Church
Attack type
 Suicide bombings
Deaths19
15 [1]
2 policemen and 2 passers-by
Injured70 [2] [3]
Perpetrators Jamaat-ul-Ahrar [1]
MotiveRetaliation against Operation Zarb-e-Azb

On 15 March 2015, two explosions took place at Roman Catholic Church and Christ Church during Sunday service in Youhanabad, Lahore, Pakistan. [4] At least 15 people were killed and seventy were wounded in the attacks. [2] [3]

Contents

The attack was followed by mob violence killing two men mistaken as militants. [4] It was the second attack on Christians minority after the deadliest attack in 2013 on All Saints church in Peshawar. In August 2015, Punjab home minister Shuja Khanzada announced that five members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban were arrested in connection to the attack. According to the statement, the men received monetary and material support from India and planned the attack in Afghanistan, from where they came to Lahore. The arrested men also confessed to planning further attacks in Karachi and Lahore. [5]

Background

The Pakistani Taliban operates as an umbrella organization for various Islamist militant groups in Pakistan. They actively target religious minorities for attacks, [6] [7] [8] including a series of attacks in 2002. In August 2002, three nurses died in a grenade attack on a chapel located on the grounds of the Taxila Christian Hospital, [9] in September 2002 seven charity workers were killed in Karachi [10] and on 25 December 2002 a grenade attack on a Presbyterian church killed three girls. [11] [12] The September 2013 suicide attack on the historic All Saints Church in Peshawar killed 75 people. [13] [14]

One of the Islamist militant groups allied to the Pakistani Taliban is Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a breakaway organisation that reunited in March 2015. [15] [16] Jamaat-ul-Ahrar carried out the November 2014 Wagah border attack where over 60 people died and over 100 were injured, [17] and the same month killed at least six people in Mohmand Agency [18] and attacked the membership camp of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement party in Karachi. [19]

Jamaat-ul-Ahrar operate the Afia Siddiqui Brigade, named after Aafia Siddiqui, [20] which previously carried out 2012 attacks on a police van on the Peshawar Ring Road and on the Judicial Complex in Peshawar. [21]

Attack

According to reports, two suicide bombers attacked the churches located in a Christian locality. The bombings took place during weekly Christian service at the two churches of Yuhanabad neighbourhood located at a distance of half a kilometre apart.

The bombers targeted two churches, Saint John Catholic Church and Christ Church at around 11:00 am local time. Both churches are located in the Youhanabad area, which is one of the country's biggest Christian localities and is home to at least one million people. [22]

The bombers tried to enter the churches but were stopped at the gate by the guards, where they blew themselves up. The high number of casualties was due to the fact that weekly service was underway when the attacks occurred. [3] The wounded were rushed to the General Hospital, where a state of emergency was declared at 12:21 pm. [23] The explosions caused a stampede at the Church as worshipers ran to save their lives. Windowpanes were broken due to the explosions.

Responsibility

Jamaat-ul-Ahrar – a splinter group of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, which had reconciled with and rejoined the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan earlier the same month [24] – claimed responsibility for the attacks. [1]

Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan used his Afghan mobile number to contact the media in Pakistan. He said, "We have carried out the attack. We have reached Lahore, the center of Punjab province, which is a challenge and a warning to the rulers." [25] He said that the group of suicide bombers who carried out the attack belonged to the Aafia Siddiqui Brigade. [23] In August 2015, Punjab home minister Shuja Khanzada announced that five people were arrested in connection with the attack. According to Khanzada, they belonged to the TTP's Shehryar Mehsud group and planned the attacks inside Afghanistan, from where they came to Lahore. According to the statement, the arrested suspects received monetary and material support from India. They also confessed to planning more attacks in Karachi and Lahore. [5]

Aftermath

The attacks ignited protests which continued for the next three days. The same day as the bombing, two men were lynched as a result of these protests. The next day paramilitary personnel had to be deployed in order to maintain law and order. The victims were laid to rest on March 17 amid tight security. Several thousand police and ranger personnel were deployed in Lahore during the last rites. [26]

Politicians, religious leaders and members of the civil society condemned the attacks, while calling for stricter security measures. However, the lynching by the mob was also condemned and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan termed it as "the worst kind of terrorism". [27] [28]

The second leg of the FIFA World Cup qualifier match between Pakistan and Yemen was to be played in Lahore. FIFA first gave the go-ahead for the match saying that it could be played behind closed doors but later a statement issued by the governing body cited "safety and security reasons" for the postponement of the match and said that the Asian Zone first round second leg tie will be played in a neutral venue. [29] [30] A subsequent statement by FIFA said that the match would be played in Manama, Bahrain. [31]

Protests

After the attack up to 4,000 Christians gathered at the attack site, formed a mob and blocked Ferozepur road. The angry mob attacked a nearby Metro bus station. [3] Water cannons were dispatched to help police clear the area. However, the mob took three policemen hostage and refused to talk with Ports and Shipping Minister Kamran Michael, who had arrived to console them. The mob captured and lynched two men suspected of being involved in the attacks. [23] The Christian community in Faisalabad city also protested against the attacks. [32] Members of the Christian community in Karachi took to the streets and protested at Esa Nagri area. They blocked the route from Hassan Square to Liaquatabad area of the city. Similar protests were staged in Multan, Gujranwala, Sialkot and other cities of Pakistan. [3] [33]

The next day up to 5,000 Christians gathered to protest but protests again turned violent as two people were killed and at least six were injured when a van ran over the protesters. [34] [35]

Lynching

The angry mob lynched two persons. One of the lynched men was identified as Muhammad Naeem by his brother Muhammad Saleem who filed an FIR of a murder case against the protesters. He claimed that his brother was innocent and further stated that his brother was not a militant. [36] He was missing and when they went to hospital they learned that he was one of those lynched. He said his brother was a glasscutter and they owned a glass shop and his brother had gone there for their work. [37]

The second victim was identified as Babar Noman, a garment worker who had come from Sargodha in search of employment at a factory. The police buried the victim's body on 17 March but a court ordered the exhumation of the body once the victim's family lodged a complaint. However, the authorities stated that the body would not be handed over before a DNA test is used to prove his identity. [38]

Reaction

Domestic reaction

Government

A spokesman for the Punjab province government condemned the attacks and said authorities are reinforcing security at the 481 remaining churches across the city. The Chief Minister of Punjab, Shahbaz Sharif condemned the attacks and commented that killing someone on the basis of suspicion is inhumane. No one has the right to take the law into their hands. [37]

The Balochistan Provincial assembly condemned the suicide attacks and lynching of two men by an angry Christian mob. [39]

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also condemned the attack. [23] Interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan condemned terrorist attacks on churches and said those who had done this did not belong to any religion because no religion tolerates such odious crimes. He also said that action would be taken against those who burnt two people alive and damaged public and private properties. [40] [41]

Religious groups

The Catholic Church of Pakistan strongly condemned the suicide bombings and urged all Pakistanis to stand with their fellow Christians against extremists. Pakistan Catholic Bishops' Conference urged the nation's provincial and federal governments to take effective measures to provide security for the churches of Pakistan, so as to guarantee freedom of religion and worship. The church also appealed to the Christian community to avoid violence and co-operate with the police in their investigations. The Catholic bishops said that they prayed to their Lord for the health of the injured and to grant grace to the families who lost their loved ones. [42]

Muslim scholars hailing from different schools of thought condemned the attack and termed it un-Islamic. Muftis of Sunni Ittehad Council said that Islam did not permit attacks on the worship places of religious minorities. A Muslim state was responsible for the protection of minorities. They also urged Islamic scholars to define the rights of minorities in Islam. [43] Pakistan Ulema Council leader Tahir Ashrafi said, "It seems like a conspiracy to ignite communal violence in the country. I appeal to all Pakistanis to stand united against this act of terrorism." [44] Jamaat Ahle Hadith Pakistan and Milli Majlis Shari also condemned the attack and urged the religious scholars to play their role against terrorism. [45]

International reaction

See also

Related Research Articles

Sectarian violence in Pakistan refers to violence directed against people and places in Pakistan motivated by antagonism toward the target's religious sect. As many as 4,000 Shia are estimated to have been killed in sectarian attacks in Pakistan between 1987 and 2007, and thousands more Shia have been killed by Salafi extremists from 2008 to 2014, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW). Sunni Sufis and Barelvis have also suffered from some sectarian violence, with attacks on religious shrines killing hundreds of worshippers, and some Deobandi leaders assassinated. Pakistan minority religious groups, including Hindus, Ahmadis, and Christians, have "faced unprecedented insecurity and persecution" in at least two recent years, according to Human Rights Watch. One significant aspect of the attacks in Pakistan is that militants often target their victims places of worship during prayers or religious services in order to maximize fatalities and to "emphasize the religious dimensions of their attack".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pakistani Taliban</span> Islamist militant organization operating along the Durand Line

The Pakistani Taliban, formally called the Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan, is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani border. Formed in 2007 by Baitullah Mehsud, its current leader is Noor Wali Mehsud, who has publicly pledged allegiance to the Afghan Taliban. The Pakistani Taliban share a common ideology with the Afghan Taliban and have assisted them in the 2001–2021 war, but the two groups have separate operation and command structures.

Youhanabad is a residential neighbourhood in Nishtar Town within Lahore, Pakistan.

Ehsanullah Ehsan is a former spokesman of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and later Jamaat-ul-Ahrar. As a spokesperson of the groups, Ehsan would use media campaigns, social media networks and call up local journalists to claim responsibility for terrorist attacks on behalf of the groups. He was initially a spokesman for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). In 2014, he left TTP after he had developed ideological differences with the TTP leadership following the appointment of Fazlullah as the leader of the group. He later co-founded Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and became its spokesman. In 2015, as a spokesman of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, he condemned Fazlullah-led Tehrik-e-Taliban attack on a school in Peshawar.

This is a list of terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2012. Pakistan has faced numerous attacks by insurgents as a result of the ongoing War in North-West Pakistan by the Pakistani military against militant groups, part of the War on Terror. At the same time, there have also been numerous drone attacks in Pakistan carried out by the United States which exclusively target members of militant groups along the Afghan border regions.

Omar Khalid Khorasani was a Pakistani militant and one of the founding members of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). In 2014, he formed his own splinter militant group called Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) and was ousted by the Mullah Fazlullah-led Taliban. The same year, JuA swore allegiance to Islamic State (ISIS), however, a year later JuA rejoined TTP.

On 22 September 2013, a twin suicide bombing took place at All Saints Church in Peshawar, Pakistan, in which 127 people were killed and more than 250 injured. It was the deadliest attack on the Christian minority in the history of Pakistan.

Chaudhary Aslam Khan Swati was a Pakistani police officer. From 2005 to 2014 Aslam arrested and killed terrorists, gangwar-criminals, target killers and extortionists belonging to the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), TMP, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LJ), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP). On 9 January 2014, he was killed in a bomb blast carried out by the TTP.

Ahrar ul Hind was a militant Islamist group in Pakistan that split from the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in February 2014. During peace talks between the Pakistani government and TTP, Ahrar-ul-Hind issued a statement to the media rejecting the talks, and announcing that they would not accept any peace agreement. Following its initial announcement, the group claimed responsibility for a number of attacks in Pakistan, including the Islamabad court attack, before merging into the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar group in August 2014.

On 8 June 2014, 10 militants armed with automatic weapons, a rocket launcher, suicide vests, and grenades attacked Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, Pakistan. 36 people were killed, including all 10 attackers, and 18 others were wounded. The militant organisation Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) initially claimed responsibility for the attack. According to state media, the attackers were foreigners of Uzbek origin who belonged to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), an Al Qaeda-linked militant organisation that works closely with TTP. The TTP later confirmed that the attack was a joint operation they executed with the IMU, who independently admitted to having supplied personnel for the attack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Wagah border suicide attack</span>

On 2 November 2014, a suicide bombing took place at Wagah border following the daily border ceremony in Pakistan. The attack was claimed by three rival militant groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamaat-ul-Ahrar</span> Organization

Jamaat-ul-Ahrar was a terrorist organization that split away from Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan in August 2014. The group came to prominence after it claimed responsibility for the 2014 Wagah border suicide attack. In August 2020, it merged back to TTP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Peshawar school massacre</span> Terrorist attack in Peshawar, Pakistan

On 16 December 2014, six gunmen affiliated with the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) conducted a terrorist attack on the Army Public School in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar. The terrorists, all of whom were foreign nationals, comprising one Chechen, three Arabs and two Afghans, entered the school and opened fire on school staff and children, killing 149 people including 132 schoolchildren ranging between eight and eighteen years of age, making it the world's fifth deadliest school massacre. Pakistan launched a rescue operation undertaken by the Pakistan Army's Special Services Group (SSG) special forces, who killed all six terrorists and rescued 960 people. In the long term, Pakistan established the National Action Plan to crack down on terrorism.

This is a list of terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2016. Pakistan was the 10th most dangerous country by criminality index in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Lahore suicide bombing</span> Anti-Christian terrorist attack by the Taliban in Lahore, Pakistan

On 27 March 2016, on Easter Sunday, at least 75 people were killed, and over 340 were injured, in a suicide bombing that hit the main entrance of Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, one of the largest parks in Lahore, Pakistan. The attack targeted Christians who were celebrating Easter. The majority of the victims were women and children. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a group affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack led to worldwide condemnation and national mourning throughout Pakistan. Pakistan also launched a widespread counter-terrorism operation in South Punjab, arresting more than 200 people who may have had a possible connection to the attack.

Terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2017 include, in chronological order:

On 13 February 2017, a suicide bombing took place on the Mall Road in Lahore, Pakistan, where a group of chemists and pharmacists were holding a protest at Charing Cross in front of the Punjab provincial assembly. According to Punjab Police sources, 18 people were killed, including several police officials, and at least 87 were injured.

Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad is a codename of a combined military operation by the Pakistani military in support of local law enforcement agencies to disarm and eliminate the terrorist sleeper cells across all states of Pakistan, started on 22 February 2017. The operation is aimed to eliminate the threat of terrorism, and consolidating the gains of Operation Zarb-e-Azb which was launched in 2014 as a joint military offensive. It is further aimed at ensuring the security of Pakistan's borders. The operation is ongoing active participation from Pakistan Army, Pakistan Air Force, Pakistan Navy, Pakistan Police and other Warfare and Civil Armed Forces managed under the Government of Pakistan. More than 375,000 operations have been carried out against terrorists so far. This operation has been mostly acknowledged after Operation Zarb e Azb.

Fazal Khan Advocate is a lawyer, human rights activist, and a leader of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM). He is also the president of the Army Public School Peshawar Shuhada (Martyrs) Forum. He has set up Sahibzada Umar Khan Shaheed Welfare Hospital in Peshawar in memory of his late son who was killed in the 2014 Peshawar school massacre, to provide free health services to deserving people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Peshawar mosque bombing</span> Suicide attack in Pakistan

The 2023 Peshawar mosque bombing was a terrorist attack that killed 84 people on 30 January 2023, at around 1:30 p.m. PKT, in the city of Peshawar, in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan. The mosque is located inside a high-security compound that includes the headquarters of the provincial police force and a counterterrorism department. At the time of the bombing, between 300 and 400 police officers were offering their Zuhr prayers.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Deadly blasts hit Pakistan churches in Lahore". BBC News. 15 March 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Worshippers killed in Pakistan church bombings". Al Jazeera. 15 March 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Imran Gabol; Nadeem Haider; Waseem Riaz, Abbas Haider, Akbar Ali (15 March 2015). "15 killed in Taliban attack on Lahore churches". Dawn . Retrieved 15 March 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. 1 2 "Two blasts at Lahore churches claim 15 lives - PAKISTAN - geo.tv". geo.tv. 15 March 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  5. 1 2 "Two Youhanabad Church attack suspects arrested, claims Punjab home minister". Express Tribune. 4 August 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  6. ↑ "After the Malala Yousafzai shooting, can shock therapy free Pakistan?". Ibnlive.in.com. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  7. ↑ "The Problem Of Pakistan". Ibtimes.com. 4 October 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  8. ↑ "Pakistan should be on the genocide watch list: US think tank". Indiatoday.intoday.in. 26 September 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  9. ↑ "Nurses killed in attack on Christian hospital". The Telegraph. 9 August 2002.
  10. ↑ "Gunmen kill seven christian charity workers" The Independent, 25 September 2002
  11. ↑ "# girls died in attack on Christian church in Pakistan". Earlychurchofjesus.org. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  12. ↑ New York Times: "Suicide Attack at Christian Church in Pakistan Kills Dozens" by ISMAIL KHAN and SALMAN MASOOD 22 September 2013
  13. ↑ "Orders fresh probe into church attack SC rues poor investigation in sensitive cases | Newspaper". Dawn.Com. 24 December 2010. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  14. ↑ "Six Killed in Anti-Christian Attack in Karachi". English.peopledaily.com.cn. 25 September 2002. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  15. ↑ "Pakistan Taliban faction announce split, new leader". Agence France-Presse . 4 September 2014. Archived from the original on 11 November 2014. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
  16. ↑ "Pakistani splinter group rejoins Taliban amid fears of isolation". Reuters . 12 March 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  17. ↑ Farooq, Umar; Shah, Zahir; Riaz, Wasim. "TTP splinter groups claim Wagah attack; 60 dead" . Retrieved 19 March 2015. At least 60 people were killed on Sunday in a blast near the Wagah border, the responsibility of which was claimed separately by the outlawed Jundullah and TTP-affiliated Jamaat-ul-Ahrar outfits.
  18. ↑ Sherazi, Zahir (7 November 2014). "Twin blasts kill at least six people in Mohmand".
  19. ↑ "Jamaatul Ahrar claims responsibility for attack on MQM camp". geo.tv/. Retrieved 19 March 2015. Splinter group of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Jamaatul Ahrar, has claimed responsibility for the attack on the membership camp of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) in Orangi Town area of Karachi.
  20. ↑ "Why is Aafia Siddiqui 'Lady Al Qaeda' the world's most wanted woman?". MetroNews. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2015. In Pakistan, a group of militants calling itself the Aafia Siddiqui Brigade has attacked government facilities in order to avenge what they see as her wrongful incarceration.
  21. ↑ Mir, Amir. "The rise of TTP's Aafia Siddiqui Brigade". thenews.com.pk/. The Pakistani authorities investigating the March 18 fidayeen attack on the Judicial Complex in Peshawar which killed four people and injured 50-plus others have reported to the Ministry of Interior that it was the second act of terrorism which has been attributed to the Aafia Siddiqui Brigade. The first act was the March 20, 2012 bombing of a police van on the Peshawar Ring Road which had killed two policemen.
  22. ↑ "Lahore church blasts: Taliban attacks kill 15, enraged residents lynch two suspects". Zee News . Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  23. 1 2 3 4 Rana Tanveer; Tahir Khan (15 March 2015). "14 dead, 75 injured in attack on Lahore's Christian community". The Express Tribune . Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  24. ↑ Katharine Houreld; Saud Mehsud (12 March 2015). "Pakistani splinter group rejoins Taliban amid fears of isolation". Reuters . Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  25. ↑ "15 killed, 80 injured in twin blasts in Lahore's Christian locality; two suspects lynched". Hindustan Times . 15 March 2015. Archived from the original on 15 March 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  26. ↑ "Pakistan Christians hold funerals for church blast victims". BBC. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  27. ↑ "Rizvi condemns attack on Lahore Churches, slams Taliban" . Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  28. ↑ Khan, Azam (18 March 2015). "Church attacks: Nisar calls Lahore lynching 'worst kind of terrorism'" . Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  29. ↑ "FIFA postpones Pakistan World Cup qualifier match after Lahore bombings". NewsOne TV. Archived from the original on 21 November 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  30. ↑ "Pakistan-Yemen tie switched from Lahore to Bahrain". dailytimes.com.pk/. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  31. ↑ "Pakistan 2018 FIFA World Cup tie switched from Lahore to Bahrain". IBN Live. Archived from the original on 21 March 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  32. ↑ "لاہور: چرچ کے گیٹ پر دو خودکش دھماکے، کم از کم 15 ہلاک". BBC Urdu. 15 March 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  33. ↑ Agencies (16 March 2015). "Stop killing our Christian brothers". Dawn. Pakistan.
  34. ↑ "Two killed as car runs over Church attack protesters". The Nation. 16 March 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  35. ↑ Okonkwo, Oge (16 March 2015). "Protest over church bombings turns violent, 10 more Christians killed". Pulse.ng. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  36. ↑ Yasif, Rana (16 March 2015). "Lahore church attacks: My brother was not a militant, says brother of lynched victim". tribune. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  37. 1 2 "Lahore lynching victim identified as local glass cutter". Dawn. Pakistan. 16 March 2015.
  38. ↑ Riaz, Waseem (18 March 2015). "Second Lahore lynching victim identified as garment worker" . Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  39. ↑ Amanullah Kasi (17 March 2015). "PA condemns church attacks, lynching of two men". Dawn. Pakistan.
  40. ↑ Iftikhar A. Khan (17 March 2015). "Action to be taken over lynching: Nisar". Dawn. Pakistan.
  41. ↑ "Terrorists now trying to persecute easy targets, says Chaudhry Nisar". The News International, Pakistan. 16 March 2015.
  42. ↑ "Pakistan Church condemns Lahore church bombings". radiovaticana.va.
  43. ↑ "Un-Islamic act: Ulema condemn attack on Lahore churches". The Express Tribune. 15 March 2015.
  44. ↑ "Ulema Council curses attack on Christians". The Nation. 17 March 2015.
  45. ↑ "PAKISTAN Muslim leaders condemn Lahore church attacks". Asia News.
  46. ↑ AP – Reuters (15 March 2015). "Pope calls for an end to persecution of Pakistani Christians". DAWN. Retrieved 15 March 2015.{{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  47. ↑ "Pope calls for end to persecution of Christians in Pakistan". The Express Tribune. 15 March 2015.
  48. ↑ The Newspaper's Correspondent (17 March 2015). "US reiterates offer to help Pakistan fight extremists". Dawn. Pakistan.
  49. ↑ "US Condemns Church Attacks in Lahore". NDTV.com.
  50. ↑ "Urgent: UN chief slams terrorist attacks on churches in Pakistan". globalpost. Xinhua News Agency. 16 March 2015.
  51. ↑ "World condemns attacks on Lahore churches" . Retrieved 19 March 2015. Turkey has also strongly condemned a recent deadly attack on two churches in Pakistan's northeastern city of Lahore. "We strongly condemn this atrocious attack that targets the stability and peace of Pakistan, and we wish God's mercy on those who lost their lives, convey our sympathies to their families and wish for speedy recovery of the wounded," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement Monday.
  52. ↑ "Sri Lanka condemns Pak church attacks". 17 March 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  53. ↑ "China condemns Pakistan church attacks". business standard. IANS. 16 March 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.