Islamabad (AsiaNews) – A “firm condemnation of violence committed in the name of religion” as well as “sorrow for the victims and their families”, and a call on the government to “put a stop to the situation and to guarantee freedom from extremism in the country.”
This was the reaction of Mgr Lawrence Saldanha, Archbishop of Lahore and chairman of the Pakistani Bishops’ Conference, to violence that erupted yesterday outside the Lal Masjid, the “Red Mosque” of Islamabad, which claimed 12 victims and wounded 150 people.
The bishop told AsiaNews of his sorrow about the senseless violence that has struck the capital, saying: “We pray that this crisis will be ended soon somehow and we invite the government to take responsibility to stop extremists who are destroying the country.”
The clashes started in the morning, when police sought to stop students of madrassas [Islamic schools] affiliated with the Lal Masjid from patrolling the streets of the capital in search of “immoral and blasphemous” people. The young people countered the police demands by seizing their arms and the officers had no choice but to start a gun battle in the streets of Islamabad.
Peter Jacob, executive secretary of the bishops’ Commission for Justice and Peace, told AsiaNews: “Yesterday’s clashes show that in these places, there is no talk about religion, rather they teach youths how to use violence. The mosque is run by two brothers who grew up under the regime of general Zia ul Huq and their students actively participate in Jihadi activities in Afghanistan.”
He continued: “These people are completely inspired by the Taliban style of life so they are struggling to recreate it here. They stop at nothing and they have shown this more than once.”
“The fact that these things are happening in the capital creates concern and a sense of security especially among religious minorities and they must be stopped.”