Suspected Pakistani Islamists attack Sarhadi Lutheran Church in Mardan for a second time
By Jawad Mazhar
Special Correspondent for ANS, reporting from Pakistan
MARDAN, PAKISTAN (ANS) -- Suspected Muslim militants have once again targeted the Sarhadi Lutheran Church in the city Mardan in Khyberpakhtunkhwa province, which is a known hotbed of Islamic extremism.
The previous attack took place on Monday, September 13, 2010 while this second one occured on Saturday, April 9, 2011, at 23:27 hours (Pakistan time), when a time bomb was placed by the church.
The Rev. Ghulam Shad, pastor of the targeted Lutheran Church, said that the explosion from the time controlled explosive device “could be heard all over the Mardan city.”
He added that an iron gate at the main entrance was uprooted by the intensity of the bomb and that “the bomb’s shock waves shattered the church’s window panes.”
The pastor stated that quarters inside the church compound also had their “windows and doors badly damaged.”
“Saddr Police have cordoned off the area with a contingent of more than 50 policemen,” said the Rev Shad added, “but although the media telecasted that rescue workers had reached our church, in reality none of them have reached here yet.”
The Rev. Shad said that he was “grateful to God that no one [from the church] was injured or killed in “the big explosion,”
He went on to say, “It took place just before midnight and although there are more than 450 members of the church, none of them were there at the time of explosion. It appears that the militants only wanted to demolish the Church, but not injure any of our people."
Police sources claimed that they have arrested a militant who was identified only as Umer, who was said to be in a "very critically injured condition" and was taken to a local hospital.
When ANS asked the Rev Shad what he would say about people who have no respect for such a place of worship, he replied, “All we can do is to pray for them as we are taught by our Lord Jesus Christ.”
At press time, bomb disposal squad, police and other law enforcement agencies were collecting evidence to build a strong case against whoever set off the bomb.
The church is in a very sensitive area of the Mardan where the Pakistan Punjab Regiment Center, an area of Pakistani Military, is located.
Jawad Mazhar is a Pakistani journalist specializing in writing about Christian persecution. He was born on November 28, 1976 at Sargodha's village Chak and raised in Sargodha, a city in Pakistan’s Punjab province. He earned his Bachelors Degree from Allama Iqbal Open University majoring in comput
er sciences and has taught at various educational institutes in his country. He is also involved with “Rays of Development,” an organization working for minority rights in Pakistan. He says, “My aim is to help eradicate Christian persecution through my writing as I bring the plight of these brave people under the spotlight of the whole world.”
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