Issue No. 599
International
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15 - 21 August 2002 Issue No. 599 International |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Recommend this page | ||
Targeting Pakistan's Christians
Christians in Pakistan are now regarded as easy targets by terrorists focused on ruining the country's reputation, reports Iffat Malik from Islamabad
Two terrorist attacks in the space of a few days have renewed the fears of Christians and foreigners in Pakistan, and dealt a further blow to the image of a country already perceived by the international community as unsafe.
The first attack took place on Tuesday, 6 August, in the hill resort of Murree, some 40km northwest of the capital Islamabad. Murree is favoured by holiday-makers for its cool climate, many Pakistanis seek relief there in the summer from the heat of the plains. Some of the country's most prestigious boarding schools are situated in and around Murree. One of these, the internationally acclaimed Murree International Christian School, was attacked on 6 August.
According to eyewitness reports a number of gunmen entered the school at around 11am. They killed the guards before opening fire indiscriminately within the walls of the school. A mere 15 minutes later, they had fled into nearby forests leaving six peopled dead, all Pakistani, and many more wounded, including a Filipino woman. The headmaster praised the sacrifice made by the Pakistani security staff, saying that their efforts prevented a bigger tragedy.
If there were any doubts about whether the school was targeted because of its foreign or its Christian character, they were removed four days later.
On Friday morning three terrorists entered the Christian Missionary Hospital in Taxila, 50km outside of Islamabad, and threw two home-made explosive devices at the congregation of nurses and doctors leaving the hospital's church after morning service. Three nurses and one of the attackers, apparently hit in the back by shrapnel, were killed, and 25 more were injured. Again, all the victims were Pakistani.
Pakistan's minority Christian community (less than two per cent of the population) has been targeted by Islamists in the past. The worst attack was on a church in Bahawalpur in October, in which 18 people died. Foreigners in Pakistan have also been attacked, including 11 French contractors who were killed in a suicide-bombing in Karachi in May. However, these latest incidents suggest that Christians are now the primary targets.
Pakistan's Information Minister Nisar Memon described the Taxila killings as "a sinister attempt to drive a wedge between the Muslim and Christian communities of Pakistan". The two attacks have certainly aroused great fears among Pakistani Christians -- a group generally at the bottom of the socio- economic ladder and hence already powerless and vulnerable.
No group has claimed responsibility for the killings. On Wednesday, police in Murree stopped a group of three men. The men then blew themselves up with hand grenades, but before dying apparently told police that there would be more attacks on "Americans and non-believers". Pakistani Christians appear to be seen by Islamists as partners with Americans, and therefore as equally viable targets.
The minister for minorities, a Christian, Colonel Tressler claimed that the two most recent attacks were carried out by the same group. "It is clear that terrorists are targeting the Christian community in Pakistan. The entire Pakistani nation will have to fight terrorism." The primary responsibility for combatting terrorism rests with the government and so far its record is poor.
There have been regular terrorist attacks, against both foreigners and Christians, since the Musharraf government sided with the US in the Afghan war, and reversed its long-standing policy of support for militant groups in Indian-Kashmir. The government has made little headway either in capturing those responsible or in preventing further attacks. The result is a corresponding lack of confidence and lack of a sense of security.
Pakistani Christians, being uneducated and poor, have few options but to take their chances in the country. They cannot leave, but foreigners can -- and are. Most diplomatic missions have ordered all non-essential personnel out of Pakistan. The US announced last week that it would be closing its consulate in Karachi; itself a target of a suicide bombing a few months ago. The Australian Cricket Board followed suit by announcing the cancellation of the Australian cricket team's scheduled tour in October. Both cited security concerns as the reason for their decision.
President Musharraf, engrossed in preparations for national elections in October, will have to find an effective strategy to deal with terrorism inside Pakistan. Unless he can curb domestic militancy, international confidence in the country will remain poor. In the long-term, this lack of confidence will make it more difficult for Musharraf to realise his goals of economic growth and development.
The problem, however, is that there is no easy strategy. The Americans have FBI agents in Pakistan. They and other security personnel are providing advice to the Pakistani government and security services. Their efforts have led to a massive tightening of the security arrangements around the small foreign community still in the country. Islamabad's diplomatic enclave has become a fortress-like entity. But providing security nation-wide is a far more formidable task. A Western diplomat in Taxila highlighted the complexity of providing security when he asked: "How do you protect against suicide bombers?"
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