Peshawar, Pakistan
Reuters
The killing of a Christian priest in the city of Peshawar has reignited fear amongst local parishioners and brought back painful memories of one of Pakistan’s bloodiest attacks on the community in the same city.
Gunmen shot and killed Pastor William Siraj and wounded another Christian cleric as they drove home from Sunday service at a small church located on the outskirts of Peshawar.
Members of the church carry the coffin containing the remains of priest William Siraj, who, according to police, was killed by unknown armed men, during his funeral service at the All Saints Church in Peshawar, Pakistan, on 31st January. PICTURE: Reuters/Fayaz Aziz.
“We felt insecure before this. The feeling of insecurity increases when these kinds of incidents take place,” Naqqash Bhatti, a relative of Siraj, told Reuters at the funeral service for the slain priest on Monday.
The service, attended by hundreds of mourners, was held at the British colonial era All Saints Church in Peshawar – the site of a twin suicide bombing that killed scores of worshippers in 2013.
Following the bombing, a small Christian community set up a smaller discreet church on the outskirts of Peshawar in 2014 – and named it the “Martyrs of the All Saints Church” in memory of the attack.
Siraj was targeted just after he had attended Sunday mass at the memorial church, which is nestled in a crammed brick-walled lane surrounded by the modest houses of the local Christian community – many of whom shifted there after the 2013 suicide attack.
The intimate community and the memorial church served as a comfort zone for many who lost friends and family in the suicide attack, and struggled to get on with their lives.
“We are poor people and work till late night in the city and then return home quite late at night,” said Waheed Masih, 36, who lives across from the church, where Siraj was a regular.
“The killing…has created panic and nobody wants to leave their homes due to fear and terror,” he added.
No-one has claimed responsibility for the attack on Siraj yet, but it comes amidst a resurgence in Islamist militant attacks in Muslim-majority Pakistan, particularly along the country’s western border with Afghanistan.
Protestant Bishop Humphrey Sarfaraz, who also attended Siraj’s funeral service, told Reuters he had requested the region’s top police official to arrange more security for the Christian clergy and enhanced patrolling on for Sunday services.
Meanwhile, Hina Jilani, chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, condemned the killing on Monday. In a statement, she said the commission sees the attack “as a blatant assault not only on Pakistan’s Christian community but on all religious minorities whose right to life and security of person remains under constant threat.” She demanded more steps for the protection of minorities.
Provincial police chief Moazzam Jah Ansari ordered investigators to utilise the latest technology and all available resources to ensure the arrest of the perpetrators.
Christians are a tiny minority in this predominantly Sunni Muslim country, where about half are members of the Church of Pakistan, a Protestant church. The other half are mostly Catholic. Militants in Pakistan have targeted Christians several times in recent years.
Overall, militant attacks have increased across Pakistan since the Pakistani Taliban ended a cease-fire with the government in Islamabad last month. The Pakistani Taliban, also known as TTP, have become emboldened by the Afghan Taliban’s sweep to power in the neighbouring country in mid-August.
Prime Minister Imran Khan’s special adviser on religious affairs and religious harmony, Tahir Ashrafi, offered assurances on Twitter, telling Pakistani Christians that the attackers would be apprehended.
– With RIAZ KHAN, AP
