No respite for Lahore Christians two years after mob attack on St Joseph's community gun shots fired against church

BPCA officer Naveed Aziz surveys latest bullet holes in gates of St Joseph's Catholic Church, 

Christians near St Joseph's Catholic Church, Dhoopsari, Sandha in Lahore are no strangers to Islamic fundamentalism.  The community was attacked,
looted and partially burned in 2015 after a false allegation of blasphemy against currently incarcerated victim Humayun Masih.

The province of Lahore itself is very aware of the dangers Christians face on a daily basis.  A false blasphemy allegation against Sawan Masih in 2013,
led to a community also named St Joseph's colony being completely razed to the ground.  Images of the attack still haunt Pakistani Christians
and convicted Sawan Masih will not be able to appeal his innocence for another two years. In addition to this the Lahore twin church bomb attack 15th March 2015,
and the Gulshan Park bomb attack in March this year have caused great anxiety and pain.

Sadly the violence in Dhoopsari has reared its extremely ugly head within this beleaguered community again, after five shots were fired through the
main entrance of St Joseph's Catholic Church at 4pm on June 4th 2016.  Only a  few people were in the church building at the time and thankfully
no-one was hurt, however the attack has created great terror amongst clergy and parishioners alike. The gaping holes left in the gates of the church
are a poignant reminder of the hatred towards Christians by increasingly hard-line Muslim's in the community.

Before you ask shooting incidents against churches and Christian homes are not unusual but quite common. It seems to be a predilection of young Muslim
men intent on bringing terror on vulnerable Christian communities. We reported on a gun attack on a church in Lahore only last year (click here).

The attackers rode into the street on motorcycles and rode out immediately after firing their guns.  During the time of the incident there was
a load shed [intentional powercut to limit electricity usage] in the area so those in the church did not see the faces of the assailants. Determined
to catch the culprits and bring them to justice in hope of restoring community morale, church leader Baba George Salamat contacted local police and
demanded a police investigation.

Due to the perceived authority of the church police have registered an FIR.  While our officer Naveed visited the Church on Friday 10th June 2016,
two police officers were still searching the church and surrounding grounds for clues to the whereabouts and identity of the shooters. 

Babu George Salamat spoke with Naveed Aziz, he said:

"These are terrible times in Pakistan, Christians are not safe and many of us will be killed for our faith. Muslims in this country are brought up hating us – they persecute us as they fear the power and authority of Jesus.  But we will continue to show love as Christ commanded and will pray for the word of God to touch their hearts and change their lives."

Wilson Chowdhry, Chairman of the British Pakistani Christian Association, said:

"This incident has frightened local Christians but will not deter them from worshiping at their church. The extremist have failed again and their brutal tactics that attempt to annihilate Christianity will be proven futile. Nevertheless we call on prayers and support from Christians around the globe. Moreover we call on Governments in the West to engage in dialogue with Pakistan to bring reform to the laws and polices that undermine Christians and create polarisation.  We demand that Foreign aid budgets are used to lever change to the poor human rights record in Pakistan and failing that, we ask for safe asylum for Christians fleeing Pakistan"

Naveed Aziz, said:

"I was the officer sent to this church last year and I am saddened that the community is facing another terrorist attack. More then likely the attack has been undertaken by local young men who have been brought up hating Christians, much like the rest of Pakistan.  For me it is disheartening that no matter how many times we share this news with Christians and Governments in the West they simply ignore our plight.  The same people will have no one to blame but themselves when the same violence and hatred enters their own communities.  Simply because they chose silence over action."

Babu George Salamat and Naveed Aziz

St Joseph's Church Dhoosari, Sandhu, Lahore.