Only two days after the funeral of Nouman Masih, a teenager of only 15 who was set alight after being covered in kerosene by two masked Muslim men on bikes (click here), Christians in Lahore have been targeted by gunmen culminating in injuries to a 15 year old student named Lucky and Muslim security officer Muhammed Amir who was protecting the school.
The attack occurred at St Franciscan High School in Behar Colony, Kot Lakhput, Lahore and is only 20 miles away from the recent attack at two churches in Lahore on March 15th 2105. Parents rushed to take their children home from school fearing the worst after recent attacks against Christians in Lahore and the school was forced to close for the day. It is hoped students will return tomorrow, but the Christian community of Lahore who have suffered a number of threats in recent weeks are still in a state of shock and panic.
Our Officer Naveed got to the site of the attack by 10:30. He enquired about the attack and wrote the following:
“According to local people there were two Muslim men in their twenties who snatched a motorcycle from a child who is studying in that school. After snatching the bike they starting firing at the school, but a security officer of school came out after hearing gun shots. The security officer fired back at the two gunmen who started shooting at him.”
Since then we have met with both victims, Lucky was sent home after medical treatment and secure bandaging was applied to his arm. He was very fortunate that his wound was not too serious, as the bullet only grazed his arm and the bullet missed any major arteries. He will be on pain killers for a while and is extremely scared of returning to school. He will be home for a few days and our Officer Mehwish will be visiting tomorrow, to provide counselling and help with costs of pain killers and other associated medical costs such as check-ups and re-bandaging.
Lucky said:
“I was riding my motorbike from my home to my school at St Franciscan High School. When I got close two boys in their early twenties stopped me and tried to snatching my motorbike. I implored to them to please not snatch my motorbike away form me and they shot at me. The bullet glanced of my shoulder and did not sever any arteries or muscles. I was extremely fortunate. They then rode my bike to the school gate and fired at the school and when the school security officer came out they started firing at him. They took my motorbike which was only a week old.”
Security Officer Muhammed Amir was shot at several times but only received an injury to his leg. He has a compound fracture and will be receiving treatment as an inpatient at Lahore General hospital for some days. He is expected to be off work for at least a month and has been terrified by the ordeal. He said:
“As a security officer your life is always at risk, but you hope and pray you will never be the victim. I am pleased that none of the children inside the school whom I was protecting have suffered harm. I hope I will be compensated for my injuries and the time off work as I have to feed my family.”
Video interviews with the two victims will be uploaded on our website in the next few days.
St Franciscan High School was founded in 1842, but was sequestered under Government control in 1972. 17 other Lahore Schools were nationalised at the same time, but denationalised in 2004, but St Francis school was not returned to the church as it could not prove landownership. An application was filed in the Lahore High Court in 2005 for the return of the school to the church. The court ordered the District Coordination Office to resolve the matter within 3 months. To date no progress has been made despite the school having paid 1.6 million Pak-rupees in 2004 to fund denationalisation.
Local people have mixed views about the gun attack. Some believe it could have been a further extremist attack against the Christian community by a terrorist group linked to the Taliban. Some say it is a robbery gone wrong. A further belief is that the attack is a response to the Christian frenzied retaliation on two believed gunmen in the aftermath of the twin bomb attack in Lahore. Local Christian rioters reacted to the attack by accosting local police and killing the two men that had been apprehended as believed gunmen. This retaliation has created great animosity towards Christians of Lahore, after Pak-media focused on this attack above the bomb incident and allegedly labelled Christians as violent thugs who had killed innocent Muslims.
Chairman of the BPCA, Wilson Chowdhry, said:
“This latest attack highlights the failing of the Government to foster an environment of safety in Lahore. Churches and schools are being targeted and threatened daily and the government of Pakistan seems unable to help or insouciant to their concerns of local Christians. The theft of the motorbike with the use of guns and the indiscriminate shooting at the Christian boys school has alarmed the local community. Christian children are being brought up in an environment of fear that will inhibit learning and create a sense of inferiority – this will stifle future generations if concerns are not tackled.”
He added:
“My wife’s family live minutes away from this school and she is extremely frightened for them. She is contending in prayer every day and it is creating huge depression within our family. We call on Christians across the globe to pray for the suffering church of Lahore. Please contact your local MPs within your respective governments and call for them to demand change in Pakistan or to renegotiate relationships with Pakistan until better human rights conditions are seen within the country.”
Alison Houghton, BPCA Lead Researcher, said:
“Yet another cowardly attack on innocent and vulnerable Christians in Lahore, a community still reeling from the church suicide bomb attacks last month, gun attack at St Peter’s Church and High School and the death of Nouman Masih. It is clear that those who are involved in this attack have no basic human regard for children who have the right to attend school without fear of injury or death”.
BPCA will update this story as more details come through.
Please pray for the city of Lahore as the death and violence toll reach epic proportions and government agencies and forces fail to protect them.
Security Officer Muhammed Amir has a compound fracture to his right leg after being struck by a bullet.
Front of St Franciscan High School
