LAHORE: A number of Christians Wednesday gathered at Saint John’s Girls High School Youhanabad to mark the second anniversary of Youhanabad church bombings.
They paid tributes to those who lost their lives in the tragic incident. The Christian community organised a memorial service for the blasts’ victims.
Leading archbishops, including Frances Gulzar, Emanuel Yusaf Mani, Irfan Jamil, Shahid Meraj and Irshad Ashknaz, World Council for Religious Peace General Secretary Hafiz Allama Nauman and Allama Ijaz Ahmad attended the ceremony. The bishops led the services, describing the heroic deeds of youth and priests involved in the Youhanabad tragedy.
MPAs Shehzad Munshi Shakil Khokhar and Human Friends Organization President Sajid Christopher said that terrorists had no religion as they had targeted mosques, churches, cinemas, market and even educational institutions. They said the Christian community deserved credit for not turning the attacks into a sectarian massacre.
They said that the sacrifices of the martyrs of Youhanabad incident would not go waste as the memories and the loss of their near and dear ones was still fresh in their memories. “The enemies of peace will not be successful in damaging the unity and religious harmony of our country,” they said, adding that Christians along with all other minorities had given their lives for the country and would not step back from any sacrifice in future for the motherland.
On 15 March 2015, terrorists carried out two suicide bombings at St John Catholic Church and Christ Church, killing 14 people and injuring more than 70. At the time of the explosions, some 800 and 1,100 people were inside the churches.
