Pakistani archbishop condemns attack on Christian church in Karachi

Published: 2004-01-16

LAHORE, Pakistan (CNS) -- The president of the Pakistani bishops' conference condemned an attack on an Anglican church in Karachi. Fifteen people were injured in the Jan. 15 incident in which a bomb exploded in a parked car in the Holy Trinity Church complex. Minutes earlier, a hand grenade was lobbed into the Pakistan Bible Society on the premises. Archbishop Lawrence Saldanha of Lahore, president of the Catholic bishops' conference, said the attack "deeply shocked and grieved the Christian community of Pakistan," reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand. "It was an attempt to desecrate the holy book of the minority Christian community and is a clear violation of the blasphemy law," the archbishop said. He called upon Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, the provincial government and all law enforcement agencies to make a thorough investigation and punish all those responsible for the crime.

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