Last year Wilson Chowdhry of the British Pakistani Christian Association was invited to talk at Wanstead Baptist, not about persecution but about the wonderful
diversity in the Christian church. The original plan had been for two services that would include a presentation on the manner in which Christians
in Pakistan worship, their devotional styles and a brief history – the afternoon service was to be entirely in Urdu led by the minister of the Asian
church ‘Kingdom Ministries’ founded by Wilson’s wife Juliet.
Sadly the Lahore twin church bomb attack occurred that morning in which 27 were killed instantly and a further 80 injured. The BPCA however did not
cancel the event despite the serious injury to one of Wilson’s cousins, but the day became focused on remembering the persecuted church of Pakistan.
At the end of the two services Wanstead Baptist Church kindly donated £500 to the emergency recovery appeal initiated by the BPCA.
On hearing about the recent bomb attack in Lahore Rev David Morgan of Wanstead Baptist Church invited Wilson Chowdhry to give a short update on this
most recent heinous attack, in which Christians were declared the targets by Ehsan Ullah Ehsan, leader of Taliban splinter group Jamaat ul Ahrar. Women
and children were the focus of the attack and images of the devastation shocked the world as global media groups described how the suicide bomber intentionally
set of his explosive device near an area where mothers and children were present.
A three year old child with punctured lungs and his eyes burnt out struggles to breathe through an oxygen mask.
Wilson said a prayer for the victims of the most recent attack, thanking God for His promise of eternal life that gives Christians hope that they will
one day be reunited with their lost ones. He prayed for socio-political change in Pakistan a nation that has ignored and oppressed its minorities
for decades and for a more egalitarian nation to develop and replace this old regime. He also prayed for succour and restoration of the lives
of the survivors and all the families impacted by this latest atrocity.
Rev David confirmed that his church will continue to pray for the persecuted Church of Pakistan, he said:
“Our hearts, thoughts and prayers are with all our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ at this tragic time. The depth of their unimaginable suffering at Easter reminds us once again that through the Cross and Resurrection of our Lord we see that the power of love will be all-victorious over every kind of darkness. We are one as a global family of faith in this unshakable hope and we are honoured to stand with them shoulder-to-shoulder.”
Wilson Chowdhry said:
“My wife lost two young cousins in this latest attack, it has been a difficult time for our family and though we hold belief that one day we will be reunited with our lost in heaven, this is still a bitter pill to swallow. Gestures such as this invite for prayers at Wanstead Baptist Church are a reminder that God is with us through our difficulties, it has been extremely encouraging. Rev David has been a beacon of hope and has always maintained contact with our group since the gracious invite to his church last year. The Church has a role of comforter for the oppressed and grieving a role the Rev David and his Church take seriously.”
Pakistan is the largest recipient of UK foreign aid, yet despite billions in investment there is no change in the persecution and discrimination
faced by minorities living there. Britain and America should be using their foreign aid budget to lever change to the poor human rights records
in Pakistan. 700 Christian girls are kidnapped, raped and forced into Islamic marriage, 15 % of blasphemy allegations are laid against Christians
who only make up 1.6% of the population of Pakistan. It is clearly documented that these draconian laws are simply being used as a tool for discrimination
and settling personal vendettas. 86% of Christians work as sewage cleaners, domestic servants or are in bonded labour, an outlawed practice of modern
day slavery since 1992, the government of Pakistan even has the audacity to promote Christian only applications for work on the sewage industry, a
practice they deem to be positive discrimination guaranteeing jobs for uneducated Christians. The government has failed to tackle the 7% literacy
rate of Christians who are bullied, forced to place children in employment to survive, fear proselytising in school and the kidnap of their girls.
Countries in the west must alter their risk profile of Pak-Christians from ‘severely discriminated’ to persecuted, most take their directions
from Britain whose incorrect Policy statement sadly hold authoritative status.
To help Christians in Pakistan we challenge the British public to seek a review of their current risk profile for Pakistani Christians via their local MPs. We also seek more signatures on our on-line petition for better protection of minorities in Pakistan which can be found by clicking (here).
We have set up a disaster recovery appeal to help and assist these families. Our donations will help secure medical supplies and pay for hospital treatments, pay for funeral costs and help with the long term rehabilitation and trauma counselling of victims. If you would like to support our appeal financially please contribute by using this link
(click here)
