1 April 2015

Pakistan: Hapless (and hopeless?) status of minorities

By R. Banerji
Mar 24, 2015

Twin suicide attacks which occurred outside the Catholic St. John’s Church, Lahore and the Protestant Christ Church, half a mile away, on Sunday March 15 morning, killing at least 15 persons only confirmed the status of siege and persecution Christians in Pakistan, as indeed other hapless minorities have been living with in Pakistan. Their status worsened after the introduction of blasphemy laws to drastically alter the 1973 constitution during Zia ul Haq’s authoritarian rule, between 1980-1987.

In September 2013, the famous All Saints Church in Peshawar, built in 1883 in a unique design of an Islamic Saracenic mosque with a dome and minarets, located in the Kohati gate area of the old walled city, was attacked by suicide bombers during a crowded mass service, killing at least 87, including 37 children.

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