Terrorists taking advantage of Pakistani flooding, says priest

(Sept.07,2010) The national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Pakistan has warned that terrorists are taking advantage of the worst flooding in the nation’s history to destabilize the nation. He made the statement on Tuesday, following the third terrorist attack in recent days. “There is a clear strategy to take advantage of the tragedy that the country is suffering,” Father Mario Rodrigues told the Fides news agency. “The government is at a weak moment and has to respond to this emergency, as well as the controversy and discontent. The army is working to contribute to relief operations and civil protection, so, the terrorists want to take this opportunity to stand up and lead an attack on a nation that is already devastated,” he added.
Archbishop Lawrence Saldanha of Lahore said that “the fury of floods is intensified with the nightmare of terrorism: two disasters that strike us to the heart. There is great suffering in the population on account of these two evils, he said and added “As Christians, we continue to work to care for displaced persons, to offer a word of hope, and to pray.”