Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Lahore (Agenzia Fides) - Christians in North West Pakistan are subject to threats, violence intimidation and their lives are in danger every day because of terrorist groups in the area. This was reported to Fides by the Justice and Peace Commission of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Pakistan, which has received many requests for help from Christian communities in North West Frontier Province where fundamentalist Islamic groups rage undisturbed.
During the night of September 15 - the JP Commission reports- the Saint John Bosco Model School in the district of Bannu run by Mill Hill missionaries was hit by a bomb. No one was hurt but the chapel was completely destroyed and other parts of the building were damaged. The school built in 2002 is an example of peaceful co-existence and harmony with Christian and Muslim pupils and teachers. After the attack staff, pupils and families are very frightened. In Bannu district there are about 800 Christian families and they are being targeted by Islamic fundamentalists.
In the same Province, at Sangota, in the district of Swat the Catholic Public High School closed from 9-17 September after receiving a threatening letter announcing a suicide bomb attack inside the school. The letter, published also in the local newspapers, was signed by the Jan Nisaran-e-Islam militant radical group. It accused the Sisters who run the school of proselytising Muslim girls to make them convert to Christianity and corrupting their morality with pornographic material and alcohol. The letter said the school was to be closed by the end of the week or there would be a suicide bomb attack inside the school. The letter warned Muslim families to take their children away from the school and send them to local Koran schools in the area.
The pupils at Sangota Public High School, popular for the high quality education, are 99% Muslim and 900 are girls.
The school was built in 1962 and run for years by the Presentation Sisters. In February this year it was taken over by a community of Carmelite Sisters. It has received similar extremist threats in the past. At the request of the local Bishop the school is now guarded 24 hours a day.
The JP Commission says Christians in other parts of the province are also targeted and intimidated to convert to Islam. “Christian minorities in North West Frontier Province feel threatened and they are frightened. Many families have moved away and extremism has increased since the military operations at the Lal Mosque in Islamabad last July”, the Commission says.
Despite the threats and intimidation the local Church refuses to close its schools. The Commission concludes: “Only the urgent resolution of the fundamental questions of freedom, democracy and human rights can restore peace and social harmony in Pakistan”. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 18/9/2007 righe 32 parole 328)
