(January 27, 2011) Bishops in Pakistan have condemned the bomb attacks in Lahore
and Karachi in which 15 people died and more than 50 were injured. Bishop Max Rodrigues
of Hyderabad called for reformation of the education system in the country. “The
tragedy is the result of divisive and repulsive thinking. Our country has detracted
from the purpose of its creation. Things will get worse in the absence of a positive
thought for unification,” he said. Auxiliary Bishop Sebastian Shah of Lahore termed
the violence as a conspiracy to disrupt peace. “People are now afraid to attend big
gatherings like marriages and religious events. The bombings are also an alarm for
us,” he said. The Church has for a long time argued for a “balanced curriculum,” saying
the present school courses encourage extremism. Two separate suicide bombs exploded
Wednesday while members of the Shia community held a procession marking the end of
40 days’ mourning for Prophet Imam Hussain. The bombing in Lahore occurred as the
Sunni Muslims flocked to the sufi Data Darbar shrine, situated near a Shia shrine,
for the annual gathering. The banned “Movement of Taliban” has accepted the responsibility
of the bombings. Yasir Bokhari, a Shia Muslim in Lahore said that people described
a teenage boy running towards the police and later detonating himself. He added that
the same shrine was bombed last Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting.