Pakistan Christians Issue Call for Protection
Christian worshipers in Peshawar attended a special Mass on Monday at All Saints Church. Some of them were there on Sunday when a bombing left 85 dead. More Photos »
By DECLAN WALSH
Published: September 23, 2013
LONDON — With its Muslim-style minarets topped by a large black cross, the All Saints Church in Peshawar has for more than a century offered a daring architectural expression of Muslim-Christian harmony and cohabitation.
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Scores Are Killed by Suicide Bomb Attack at Historic Church in Pakistan (September 23, 2013)
The burial on Monday of a victim of the church attack, in which 135 were wounded. More Photos »
This is how the Taliban destroyed it: two suicide bombers rushed the church doors as worshipers streamed out on Sunday. One attacker exploded his vest inside, the other just outside.
The death toll had risen to 85 by Monday evening, when Christians across the country protested the worst atrocity their community has suffered in Pakistan's history.
Crowds blocked roads, burned tires and waved wooden crosses as they marched in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar. Many shouted demands for government protection, while voicing skepticism about whether Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's government could stave off attacks. Mission schools announced they would close for three days.
For government critics, the atrocity highlighted the continuing failure of the state to protect minorities against hate attacks. Hundreds of Shiites, in particular, have been killed in devastating attacks over the past year. But it also further stirred a debate about a recent political decision to start peace talks with the Pakistani Taliban, billed as an attempt to stem the bloodshed.
"Pakistan's politicians are failing at the most basic of questions — about what kind of Pakistan they want to shape and lead," said Cyril Almeida, a writer with Dawn newspaper. "Whether out of sympathy, fear or cowardice, no one is willing to stand up to radical Islamists and say: 'No, enough is enough. We are taking our country back.' "
Christians in Pakistan already contend with deep-rooted prejudice. Most are poor and traditionally carry out menial work like sweeping street garbage and cleaning sewers. Muslim mobs, enraged by rumors of blasphemy, occasionally rampage through Christian slums, and have burned hundreds of houses. Extremists killed the Christian minorities minister Shahbaz Bhatti in early 2011.
Still, Sunday's attack touched a raw nerve across sectarian lines. Clerical organizations and all major political parties issued statements of condemnation. On Monday, Parliament passed a resolution condemning the bombing as "an attack on Pakistan."
Perhaps the sharpest political fallout has been felt by Imran Khan, the former cricket star who has long urged a truce with the Taliban and whose political party runs Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province, where the bombing took place.
On Sunday, Mr. Khan, who is more used to adulation at his appearances, was jeered by Christians with cries of "shame" and "Imran is a dog" at a Peshawar hospital where victims were being treated.
Visibly rattled, Mr. Khan claimed the hostile reception had been whipped up by his political rivals. But he couched his reaction in vague terms, saying he condemned "whoever carried out the bombing." (Some other Pakistani politicians went further in suggesting that the bombing had not been by the Taliban, but instead had been engineered to sabotage the prospects of talks with the militants.)
Mr. Khan also stuck by his longstanding support for peace talks. "There are only two solutions: either fight or have dialogue," he said.
Mr. Khan's stance has become mainstream, with most major parties supporting negotiations. But that has led to tensions with the military leadership, which has given conflicting signals about its stance.
The army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, supported a recent all-parties conference that authorized Mr. Sharif's government to initiate talks. But the army is also furious at the killing of a two-star general in a Taliban ambush near the Afghan border a week ago. Recent statements suggest the military high command's enthusiasm for talks is wavering.
While officials are mired in the debate, the Taliban and their allies have kept up their campaign of violence.
Over the past year, militants have stepped up attacks against Shiites and other religious sects, continued a drive to close girls' schools, targeted the military and police, and deeply bloodied liberal political parties before the May elections.
Now, the bombing at the church, which is a member of the Church of Pakistan and part of the Anglican Communion, stands as a fresh reminder that the Taliban have been happy to drive deeper wedges into any division Pakistan presents.
"This was an attack on everyone who doesn't subscribe to obscurantist agendas," read an editorial in The News, a daily newspaper, on Monday. "We have remained silent for far too long, and silence now will have blood on its hands."
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