Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Karachi (Agenzia Fides) – Fr. Emmanuel Yousaf Mani, Director of the National Justice and Peace Commission of the Pakistani Bishops' Conference, has expressed the Church's closeness, solidarity, and desire to offer concrete support to Christians suffering attacks in recent days by the Taliban in Tiasar, a neighborhood located in the city of Karachi (see Fides 24/4/2009).
According to a statement sent to Agenzia Fides, Fr. Emmanuel has visited the areas affected by the violence with a delegation of priests, religious, and laity. The group met with local civil authoritiesand several leaders of social and political movements, expressing concern and recalling the urgent need to stop minority fundamentalists of the Taliban, who have been terrorizing the Christians of Pakistan. The group also went to the hospital to visit several of those wounded in the attacks.
Fr. Emmanuel encouraged the faithful of Karachi, inviting them to remain united and to find legal measures for establishing justice and stopping those guilty of these crimes. “All Pakistani citizens are equal before the law and the government and this violence should not be permitted or tolerated,” he stressed, assuring of the Bishops' Conference's material and moral support in this area. “Public entities have the duty of stopping the Talibanization of the country,” he affirmed.
He also encouraged the community not to lose hope and to continue in constant prayer, without responding to the violence with violence. In the area of Tiasar, part of Karachi, there are over 700 Christian families, many of whom belong to St. Jude Parish. They are mainly poor families, the working class and farmers who lead a simple and tranquil life. In the meantime, fighting between the Pakistani Army and the Taliban continues in the Swat Valley, the tribal zone of Northwestern Pakistan. The government approved the decree that called for the establishment of sharia in the territory (see Fides 16/4/2009), however after the Taliban tried to take over other districts, the government began sending in more troops into the area and this has sparked more conflict between the military and fundamentalist groups. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 28/4/2009)
