Religious Liberty Prayer List – No. 160 – Wed 20 Mar 2002

———————————————- PAKISTAN: CHRISTIANS TARGETED IN TERROR ATTACK ———————————————-

When Pakistan’s President, General Pervez Musharraf, allied Pakistan with the USA-led war on terrorism, he lost the support of the hardline Islamists within his own nation. On Sunday 28 October, six militants gunned down 15 Pakistani Christians and a Muslim police officer guarding the church where they were worshipping, in Bahawalpur, Eastern Punjab. Tensions escalated further in January when President Musharraf declared to the nation his intention of ridding Pakistan of Islamic terrorism. Decisive action followed: he closed more than 400 offices of several Islamic groups that he banned and over 1400 militants were arrested.

On Sunday 17 March, five died and 46 were injured (6 critically) in a grenade attack on the Protestant International Church (PIC) in the capital, Islamabad. The dead and injured were from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Ethiopia, USA, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Switzerland and Australia. Although the US Embassy was only 300 metres away, it was not the Embassy but the church during Sunday worship that was specifically attacked. A senior Interior Ministry official said investigators are looking into whether Christians, regardless of nationality, were the target.

An Australian couple injured in the attack lost a special friend, Anwar Baizar (early 20s), a young Afghan believer who helped them in their home. He took the full force of a grenade and died in the church, as did Rabia Edward, a Pakistani woman. An American mother, Barbara Green and her daughter Kristen (17) also died in the presence of other family members. One body, possibly that of a suicide bomber, is as yet unidentified. The president of the PIC congregation, Dr Christy Munir (62) was one of those critically injured and remains in intensive care.

One strategic analyst from Islamabad’s Quaid-e-Azam University said, ‘It is a kind of pay-back for what is happening in Afghanistan, and for what the Musharraf government has done to the jihadi groups.’ A Western diplomat commented, ‘This is going to get worse. The militants are regrouping. They used to exist above ground. Now they have gone underground.’ It is of great concern that the terrorists infiltrated a high security area and entered a church guarded by Pakistani security. Musharraf has since fired Islamabad’s police chief and four other senior police officials.

For the past six months, Pakistan has been poised between serious internal civil unrest and modernisation that could free the nation from the controlling grip of the hard-line Islamist clerics and militant groups. Pakistan stands at the watershed.

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY FOR

* the nation of Pakistan, that God will reign and be victorious for the sake of his children and the growth of his Church.

* for the safety and courage of Christians in Pakistan and that their faith will remain strong, despite fear or anxiety.

‘Therefore my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.’ 1 Corinthians 15:58

* the powerful presence of God’s Spirit in the gracious, peaceful witness and service of the believers in Pakistan, so that many others who are seeking answers and spiritual truth will be saved.

* comfort and strength for Christians still imprisoned on spurious charges of blasphemy.

* God to reveal himself to President Musharraf and other leaders in Pakistan, so that they will see that Jesus has the answers and is the way of peace and reconciliation at all levels, not Islam.

SUMMARY TO USE IN BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE: ——————————————————————- CHRISTIANS DIE IN TERROR ATTACK IN PAKISTAN

On Sunday 17 March, five died and 46 were injured in the Protestant International Church in Islamabad, the capital, when militants burst in during worship, hurling grenades at the congregation. The dead and injured in this ‘house of prayer for all nations’ (Is. 56:7) were from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Ethiopia, USA, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Switzerland and Australia. Although the US Embassy was only 300 metres away, the church was the militants’ choice, making investigators suspect that Christians, regardless of nationality, were the target. This is the second church massacre in Pakistan since President Musharraf lost the support of the country’s hardline Islamists by allying Pakistan with the USA-led ‘war on terror’. Pray for Pakistan and for its Christians, that their gracious witness will be fruitful.

—————————————————- Please pass this along to others with attribution to World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Religious Liberty Prayer List <> —————————————————-

The WEA Religious Liberty Commission sponsors this RL Prayer List to help individuals and groups pray specifically and regularly for religious liberty issues, and in particular to uphold the Church where it is suffering persecution.

RL Prayer is moderated by Ron Clough, a commissioner of the WEA RLC and convenor of the Australian EA RLC. Elizabeth Kendal researched and compiled this message.

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