Even in a city that's been hit by some of the worst terrorist attacks in Pakistan, few could have predicted what would transpire last weekend.
After Mass services ended at Peshawar’s historic All Saints Church, hundreds of worshippers milled around outside, joined by children who had just finished Sunday school. In quick succession, two suicide bombers entered the compound and detonated their explosives, ending the lives of scores of Pakistani Christians in the process.
The attack killed 85 people and injured over 100, making it one of the worst ever attacks on a minority faith group in Pakistan’s history – a history that is already well acquainted with religious persecution.
“The initial report was that 120 people had been killed,” recalls Peshawar-based journalist Iftikhar Firdous, who described the hellish scenes at the bomb site. “Usually it's 15 or 20 [dead]. Sometimes it's exaggerated, but when it's 120…"
Speaking from Peshawar, Father John Williams – from the Pakistan-based Catholic organisation National Commission of Justice and Peace – told me, "There is one family that has lost a father, a son and a daughter. The mother is alive, but she cannot use her legs. There are so many families that have been torn apart. One family had left two of their youngest sons at home, the rest died in the blast. These are just a few examples. What will happen to these people afterwards? They will be paralysed and handicapped. That is more heinous." Full story...
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After Mass services ended at Peshawar’s historic All Saints Church, hundreds of worshippers milled around outside, joined by children who had just finished Sunday school. In quick succession, two suicide bombers entered the compound and detonated their explosives, ending the lives of scores of Pakistani Christians in the process.
The attack killed 85 people and injured over 100, making it one of the worst ever attacks on a minority faith group in Pakistan’s history – a history that is already well acquainted with religious persecution.
“The initial report was that 120 people had been killed,” recalls Peshawar-based journalist Iftikhar Firdous, who described the hellish scenes at the bomb site. “Usually it's 15 or 20 [dead]. Sometimes it's exaggerated, but when it's 120…"
Speaking from Peshawar, Father John Williams – from the Pakistan-based Catholic organisation National Commission of Justice and Peace – told me, "There is one family that has lost a father, a son and a daughter. The mother is alive, but she cannot use her legs. There are so many families that have been torn apart. One family had left two of their youngest sons at home, the rest died in the blast. These are just a few examples. What will happen to these people afterwards? They will be paralysed and handicapped. That is more heinous." Full story...
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