Prayers for 42 murdered in Lahore suicide blast

(July 03, 2010) Church leaders in Pakistan have condemned a suicide attack inside a packed Sufi shrine in the provincial capital that killed scores and injured many more. At least 42 devotees were killed and at least 200 injured after three suicide bombers entered the popular Data Darbar Shrine used by both Sunnis and Shia Muslims and detonated themselves on July 1. Shrine workers involved in the clean-up operation say human remains still litter the bomb site. “We are even collecting body parts from the ceilings,” Muhammad Arif told ucanews.com. “At first we thought that the generator had blown, suddenly there was smoke everywhere. Then the other bombers detonated their suicide jackets,” he said. Churches in Lahore offered condolence prayers for the shrine victims this morning. “We shall dedicate today’s evening holy hour to offer prayers for peace, the victims and for the suicide bombers. Targeting places of worship is pure evil and extremely cruel. The government must step up its efforts to maintain peace; it’s a total disaster here,” said the Vicar General Father Andrew Nisar of Lahore. People of all religions visit the country’s most popular holy site including Christians, he said. Anglican Bishop Alexander John Malik, Moderator of the Church of Pakistan, also condemned the bombings. “It is wrong to target innocent people. We stand united as a nation against terrorism and pray for the victims and their families”, he said.