ISLAMABAD: Members of the civil society, political personalities and staff at Pims joined hands with the capital’s Christian community on Monday to protest the suicide attacks on churches in Lahore.

A candle light vigil was also held to pay tributes to those who lost their lives in the attacks.

Fifteen people were killed and over 70 injured in the twin suicide attacks on churches during Sunday mass in Lahore’s Yuhanabad area.

On Monday, members of the civil society held a protest at the National Press Club (NPC) to express solidarity with the Christian community. They were joined by a number of women, led by PTI Islamabad Women Wing President Muneera Javed and members of All Pakistan Minorities Alliance.

The protesters carried placards inscribed with slogans condemning terrorist attacks and calling for peace in the country. The protesters had come out in response to calls by various organisations but staged a joint protest.

Rights activist Tahira Abdullah addressed the protesters and said that the civil society had not forgotten other incidents of violence against Christian Pakistanis in Faisalabad, Karachi, Peshawar and other parts of the country.

“It hurts us when anyone in the country is killed because we are all Pakistanis. Even if we belong to different religions, we have the same blood,” she said.

Ms Abdullah said minorities had an equal right to live peacefully in this country and steps should be taken to root out the mindset which promoted killing in the name of religion.

Another activist, William Pervaiz, said minorities were being killed all over the country in the name of religion and this must stop.

“Unfortunately, we are paying in blood for policies which were made decades ago. Now it is time to correct past mistakes,” he said.

United Council of Churches of Islamabad (UCCI) General Secretary Pastor Samson Sohail said the government should ensure the safety of Pakistan’s religious minorities as guaranteed by the Constitution.

“We condemn the attack in Lahore and are standing by our country’s armed forces in their fight against terrorists and extremists,” he said.

UCCI member Bishop Mushtaq Jamal said the district administration in Lahore was aware of the threat against churches but failed to provide them security.

“A similar attack took place in Peshawar in 2013 but no one bothered to take precautionary measures,” he said.

Later, a candle light vigil was held for those who lost their lives in the attack in Lahore.

A rally was also held at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) to protest the attack on churches in Lahore. A large number of doctors, nurses, paramedical staff and employees of various departments participated in the rally.

Pims Vice Chancellor Dr Javed Akram, addressing the participants, said after the attack on Sunday, he immediately contacted hospitals in Lahore and offered to send medical staff, medicines and blood from Islamabad.

“A large number of our colleagues at Pims are Christian so the attack was close to our hearts and we wanted to help the injured people,” he said.

Dr Akram said it was unfortunate that we were not living in the Pakistan that the Quaid-i-Azam envisioned.

Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2015

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