The Attack on All Saints Church is an attack on Pakistan

Christian and Muslim communities have been living in Pakistan since independence. The Christian community is around 2% of the total population of Pakistan and, like other members of minority faiths, they also experience prejudice at various levels in their everyday lives. This faith-based prejudice is both casual and institutionalised. The majority of Christians in Pakistan are extremely poor and do menial jobs across the country.  The contribution of the members of the Christian community towards the protection and development of Pakistan is totally missed in the school text books.

Although there have been various incidents of Christian-Muslim conflict in the recent past, the incident on Sunday 22nd September turned out to be the deadliest attack to ever be committed against the Christian community in Pakistan. Two suicide attackers blew themselves up near the All Saints Church in Peshawar at a time when hundreds of Christians were returning home after the Sunday Church service. So far, 81 people have reported to be killed and over 100 terribly injured in the incident. According to the Interior Ministry of Pakistan, there were 7 children and 34 women amongst the victims who lost their lives.

A splinter group of Pakistani Taliban known as TTP-Jandullah has taken responsibility for the attack, saying that such attacks will continue against the non-Muslims until the US ends drone strikes in the tribal areas of Pakistan – a demand that makes little sense.

The persecution of minorities in Pakistan is not new; but the recent incident in Peshawar has an interesting element to look at. The present Pakistani government has recently decided to initiate a peace process with the Taliban and is actively discussing the modalities of peace talks. There is a perception in Pakistan that there are certain elements in the country who do not want the peace process to go ahead and they are trying to sabotage the negotiation strategy of peace with the Taliban.

However, given the state of minorities in Pakistan since its independence, there requires a comprehensive strategy to ensure the protection of the minority communities. The response from the civil society and wider public is similar to that which they exhibited in the past. The majority of the people are showing solidarity with the victims’ families, but it certainly requires more than a timely support. We should not allow this vicious cycle, in which we condemn the ruthless mass murder of our minority communities and then no concrete actions are taken against the perpetrators, to continue. It is time to learn from the past. What did we learn from Shanti Nagar, Sangla Hill, Gojra and Badami Bagh incidents? Did we develop a counter-terrorism strategy? Did we increase the security of religious places? Did we train our police to deal with the terrorists? Did we start monitoring the hate-based narratives against minorities? Did we think of legislating against hate crime against religious minorities? Did the government start supporting the interfaith organizations operating within Pakistan to promote a dialogue between members of the faith communities to foster better relationships among them?

The answer to all the above questions is one word – NO

The government has announced ‘Three-Day’ mourning in the country after the barbaric attacks against the Christian communities in Peshawar but would this mourning ensure the protection of minorities from future attacks?

This government of Pakistan must think beyond sheer condemnation and timely solidarity with the victims and their families. Pakistan certainly needs serious and consistent efforts to tackle the challenges of terrorism and extremism. It is the time to prove that the ‘Attack on the All Saints Church is an Attack on Pakistan.’

Rehman Anwer

Faith can build bridges too!

Every day media and internet compel us to form our own opinions and conclusions. We read news reports, hear accounts of witnesses and see images of deprivations, poverty, disease and violence across the globe. Nothing moves us more than to see injustice done to those who are vulnerable, underrepresented or targeted because of their views, beliefs or ethnicity. In the wake of the recent events in Palestine facebook and twitter is inundated with views and sometimes accounts of those who are witness to truth and ground reality about the situation and the crisis. The debate starts from the plight of the injured children who are always the innocent victims in any conflict, goes on the failure of politicians and statesmen to resolve the issue and then also includes the clash between faiths.

Countless acts of extremism are carried out because of the differences in views and beliefs between followers of different faiths.  And sometimes strife between different sects within a faith also leads to violence. In Pakistan we hear of flagrant abuse of rights and persecution suffered by the Shias and Ahmadis in Pakistan. Malala was attacked by the very people who profess to represent Muslim faith. Religion is highlighted as the centre of countless incidences of persecution, defamation and condemnation of individuals who either differ in perception of our beliefs or belong to a different religion. Whether it is contribution by Dr Abdus Salam in the fields of physics and mathematics or Shabaz Bhatti’s campaign to highlight the issues of minorities, the question we need to ask is, do we honor such individuals because of their endeavors or do we encourage sense of exclusion because faith values differ.   

Though faith is blamed for most of the major conflicts and wars around the world, it has another dimension and perspective too; that of building bridges. If language of extremism is loud, obvious and instantly recognizable we have to redouble our efforts to prove that faith can end disagreements and foster good relations between people of different faiths. Sometimes those with the loudest voices may not always be right. When we come together to prove we could be of any faith and we want to live together, despite our differences in beliefs, we are contributing to nation building and prosperity. ‘Faith-Matters’ aim to bring together diverse and sometimes unheard voices of tolerance and peace from around Pakistan. There is a lot to be done to remove prejudices and inequality in our society. We have to ensure that Hindus can live without the fear of desecration to their temples, Christians are treated with respect and no one fears for their lives because of laws that are discriminating. The NGO is a step in the right direction and a much needed support for those who want to come together and show solidarity for a good cause.

By Salima Yakoob   twitter: @mssolidarity