Attack by the Taliban group responsible for last year’s Easter massacre. Catholics engaged in solidarity.
“We are dismayed and put in God’s hands this injustice along with the lives of all the innocent dead of yesterday’s massacre. As Christians, today we will hold a solemn vigil in the Cathedral and in silence we will pray for the victims, entrusting them to the Lord. We will then follow the government’s directions, by participating in the mourning and closing all our public institutions, schools included” told Vatican Insider Jahanzeb Iqbal, Rector of the Lahore Cathedral and director of youth ministry in the Archdiocese, the heart of Pakistan’s Punjab .
A suicide bombing took place on Monday, February 13, in Lahore in front of the parliament of the Punjab, during a protest rally led by pharmaceutical and chemical industry’s employee. 15 were left dead and over 100 wounded, of whom twenty in critical condition, but numbers continue to rise.
The bomber was riding a motorcycle and blew himself up near a police van. A spokesman for the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar group, a seccessionist faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan group (TTP), the so-called “Pakistan Taliban,” has claimed responsibility for the attack on social media.
The group is also known for having claimed the attack happened on Easter of 2016 in Lahorem. That day more than 70 people were killed, including women and children who were celebrating in the Gulshan-e-Iqbal park.
Iqbal Jahanzeb told Vatican Insider that “the explosion was so powerful, it shook the whole area and was felt up to five kilometers away,” he feels lucky to be alive. “I was riding my bike nearby, just five minutes before the blast, “he says, still in shock. “It was immediately clear that it was a very serious attack.”
Iqbal is preparing for tonight’s solemn liturgy in the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Lahore: “We will remember the victims of terrorism. And ask God for light and grace so our hearts can give a response of faith to this senseless violence that is killing innocent people” he says.
“In today’s Gospel - Iqbal Jahanzeb explains - Jesus is with his disciples who are thinking about food. Let us updated this passage: today we see in Pakistan injustice, violence, terrorism, economic and social problems, such as lack of water and education. Well, the minds of men are busy addressing these issues, they do not raise their eyes toward God. The answer lies in knowing and fulfilling God’s will”
The priest continues: “Events such as the attack in Lahore touch us deeply but can make us stronger in the faith. People today are concerned by material goods and focus on individualism, but only if they open the horizons to loving their neighbor, life will change.”
“Christian faith, lived in everyday life - the dean says - is made of love, peace, non-violence, even when facing situations that cause us to suffer we should follow the example of Jesus on the cross.”
The number of terrorism victims in Pakistan continue to rise. It is estimated to be over 50 thousand over the past decade. The Jamaat-ul-Ahrar group adheres to the extremist Islamic movement Deobandi, which is rigidly conservative, and in recent years has tried to expand and establish itself in Pakistan not only through violent acts but also by creeping in Koranic schools, at the expenses of local traditions and their more open approaches.
Among the attacks’ targets, there were military and government institutions, public areas, hospitals, schools and religious minorities. Acts accompanied by proclamations against what is referred to “a state of miscreants.”
“The Taliban - Another priest of Lahore, Bernard Inayat says – strike indiscriminately on civilian and military targets, schools and families. They want to destroy peace and obtain visibility by threatening institutions. We will remain united in protecting social and religious peace. As Christians, we will do our share, and pray and work peacefully, building every day for peace in our daily lives”
Catholic institutions such as Caritas Lahore or associations of Christian inspiration as the “Cecil Chaudhry & Iris Foundation” express practical solidarity by taking care of the victims of the attacks, visiting them in hospitals and taking care of their families, regardless of ethnicity, religion, social class .
