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Attacks on Christians in Pakistan continue
2002-190-2
8/9/2002
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[Episcopal News Service]
Recent attacks on a Christian school and a missionary hospital in predominantly Muslim Pakistan are being interpreted by some as part of an intentional campaign against Christianity.
Minister of Information Nisar Memon called the latest killings 'a sinister attempt to drive a wedge between the Muslim and Christian communities of Pakistan.' Some observers said that the attacks stem from the support of President Pervez Musharraf for the international war against terrorism led by the United States.
During one attack five unidentified gunmen stormed the gates of a school for the children of missionaries in the Himalayan foothills north of Islamabad. That attack killed at least six people, most of them on the staff.
Three Pakistani nurses were killed by grenades tossed into a crowd of women leaving a missionary hospital chapel in Taxila. Police were investigating possible connections between the two attacks, only 38 miles apart.
The Taxila Christian Hospital has been affiliated with the Presbyterian churches of Pakistan and the United States, receiving occasional funding from the Americans, Swedes and Germans. Hospital officials said that the hospital was probably regarded as a foreign target, one that is linked to the Christian west. 'I think this is a matter of sadness for our country,' said administrator Joseph Lall. 'It will cause fear--especially among the Christians. We feel trapped.'
Anglican bishop of Lahore in the Church of Pakistan, Alexander John Malik, said that security was being reviewed at other Christian sites and institutions as a result of the attacks. He said that if the Islamic militants 'think that by targeting us they might change the policies of America and England they are mistaken.'
The militants are likely connected with the armed groups fighting the guerilla war against India over the disputed territory of Kashmir.
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