Pakistani church leaders condemn latest round of sectarian violence

Published: 2005-06-06

LAHORE, Pakistan (CNS) -- Church leaders condemned the latest attacks on Shiite mosques and the resulting violence, which caused 37 deaths and injured at least 31 people in Pakistan. The Pakistani bishops' National Commission for Justice and Peace expressed grief and condemnation at the loss of life and property at the Shiite shrine of Bari Imam in Islamabad May 27 and three days later at a Shiite mosque in Karachi. In a statement issued June 1, Archbishop Lawrence Saldanha of Lahore, commission chairman, and Peter Jacob, executive secretary, demanded effective measures to halt violence in the name of religion, reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand. "The attacks on places of worship and killing of innocent citizens for the sake of religion or sect have been ignored for too long, and that's why hundreds of people have been massacred in armed and bomb attacks in the last few years," their statement said.

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