Michael Nazir-Ali: Christians in Pakistan are 'sitting ducks' for terrorist attacks
The former Bishop of Rochester, Michael Nazir-Ali, has called on the Pakistani government to send in the army to root out terrorists and said the United Nations must address the plight of persecuted Christians in the Islamic world.
Dr Michael Nazir-Ali's spoke to Christian Today in response to the bombings in Lahore at the weekend, in which 17 people were killed and nearly 80 injured.
Born in Pakistan, Nazir-Ali was Britain's first non-white diocesan bishop. Since stepping down from Rochester in 2009, he has served as president of the organisation Oxtrad, building up church leadership in countries where Christians are persecuted such as Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and Nigeria, as well as working in advocacy and human rights.
He is visiting Pakistan this Friday where the Forman Christian university in Lahore is attended by equal numbers of Muslims and Christians. He will be teaching at the Christian theological college.
Before leaving, he made an urgent plea for immediate protection for churches, communities, schools and hospitals: "There is such a lot that the Christian community does in Pakistan, in spite of the terrible persecution and discrimination that it suffers. All of these are sitting ducks for any kind of terrorist to do whatever they like. All of these places are used by large numbers of people."
Protection had to go beyond the police and to involve the military and even the army, he added. "It is a daunting task. It is easier to say than to do."
Nazir-Ali, who was ordained in 1976, worked in Lahore in the community where Sunday's bombings took place, as well as in Karachi. He was the first Bishop of Raiwind in West Punjab, and the youngest bishop in the Anglican Communion, when he was granted refuge in England in 1986 when his life was at risk, thanks to the intervention of the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Robert Runcie.
Just 2 per cent of Pakistan's population is Christian but large numbers live in Lahore.
Read full story: http://www.christiantoday.com/...st.attacks/50239.htm