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Pakistan

• Blinded Church Members Blamed for Church Attack

  At least three survivors of the deadly attack on a Presbyterian Church in Chianwali, Pakistan on Christmas Day have sustained permanent eye damage, according to a report from Compass Direct on January 7. To add to their injuries, Urdu-language newspapers are naming them as probable suspects in the bombing. The three men have been identified as Boota Masih, Afzal Masih and his brother Aslam Pervaiz Masih. Boota Masih's two daughters remain in hospital with injuries. According to one Christian, this is not unusual, as Islamic groups put pressure on the Christians to drop all charges against those responsible for the attack. Some of those injured are also refusing to be released from hospital, afraid to return to their village.

  Three girls were killed in the attack and thirteen other children and their parents were injured in the attack. As more information is made available about the attacks, earlier reports are being contradicted, including the report of a fourth victim. Also eyewitnesses are reporting that the attackers were not wearing burqas, as originally reported. Instead, their faces could be clearly seen and they were identified as local Islamic militants, but witnesses have been hesitant to testify to the authorities because of possible reprisals from police.

  Pray that those responsible for this attack will be brought to justice. Pray for peace of heart and mind for the Christians of Chianwali. Pray for healing for those injured and for the families of the victims.
   
      
   

  
   

• Muslims Urged to Kill Christians

  An Islamic organization, JeshIhle-Alqiblat Al-Jihadi Alsari Al-Alami, has published a pamphlet in Urdu and Arabic calling on Muslims to kill Christians wherever and whenever they are found. The pamphlet, being distributed in various parts of Pakistan, says that this is the duty of every Muslim. According to a report received by The Voice of the Martyrs on January 10, Pakistani Christians are being specifically targeted in connection with the "war on terrorism" in Afghanistan and there is fear for escalated violence if Iraq is attacked.

  Christians in Pakistan and other Islamic countries need our concentrated prayers during this time of uncertainty in the world as militant Islamic groups attempt to make the "war on terrorism" into a "war on Islam."

• Arrest Made in Christmas Day Bombing

  The Punjab police claim to have arrested one of the two men who threw bombs into a church in Chianwali, Pakistan on Christmas Day, killing three and wounding 14 others. Authorities told the Pakistani newspaper, DAWN, on January 12 that the suspect was arrested based on intelligence sources and that he has since confessed. Authorities will not reveal his identity nor if he has connections to any organization.

  This arrest came only one day after more than 100 Pakistani Christians rallied in Lahore, calling on police to arrest those responsible for the attacks.

  Pray that those responsible for this attack will be brought to justice. Pray for Christians in Pakistan, who have become increasingly frustrated in the face of increasing attacks.