ASIA/PAKISTAN - The community of Lahore in shock: truck slams into Easter procession

Lahore (Agenzia Fides) - In the week following Easter, the Catholic community of the Archdiocese of Lahore is still shocked by the incident that overshadowed the Easter celebrations: on April 5, 2026, a solemn procession in the early hours of Easter Sunday morning in Gujranwala, a village in Punjab province within the diocese, was disrupted by an attack that deeply shocked the local Catholic community. While more than 200 faithful from the Catholic parish of St. Francis of Assisi in Klasske (run by the Friars Minor), made their way to the shrine singing and carrying candles and palm branches, a truck deliberately drove at high speed into the crowd, injuring 60 people, many of whom are in critical condition in hospital. This was not a simple traffic accident, but a deliberate attack on innocent believers during the holiest time of the year. The fact that the driver neither stopped nor offered assistance, but continued driving and fled, underscores the malicious intent behind this act, emphasize local believers, who are still in shock. Father Qaisar Feroz, OFM Cap, executive secretary of the Episcopal Commission for Social Communication, condemned on behalf of the entire Catholic Church in Pakistan “a criminal and brutal act, a sign of religious intolerance and spiritual confusion.” “We demand an immediate police investigation,” he told Fides. Father Lazar Aslam OFM Cap, Coordinator of the Commission for Justice, Peace and Ecology, described the incident as “a hate crime, an act of Christianophobia” and points to the urgent need for comprehensive medical care for the affected families, who are the primary victims of this tragedy. “The continued silence of the authorities and the attempt to downplay such incidents are as painful as the violence itself,” he emphasizes. “As long as the lives of Christians are not treated with equal dignity and those responsible for these acts of violence are not held accountable, words of peace will not be enough to heal the wounds of the community,” he notes, adding that “authentic interreligious dialogue cannot exist in a lack of truth and security.”
The faithful of Lahore join the Franciscan friars of Gujranwala in praying for the speedy recovery of the injured while providing assistance to the affected families in the area. “May the grace of the risen Christ comfort broken hearts and guide the way to lasting justice and peace in our diocese and throughout Pakistan,” the friar concludes. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 8/4/2026)

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