Christians condemn Karachi killings

(Oct.26,2010) In Pakistan, Christians have condemned last week’s killings in Karachi by holding a peace rally. Christian students and women strongly condemned the violence that left 87 people dead in Karachi. “Our city was once called the City of Lights and we want that back. The government must come up with strategies to eradicate violence,”said William Sadiq, coordinator of the Action Committee for Human Rights, which organized a peace rally on Oct. 24. About 50 participants, wearing white and bearing candles, held the demonstration near Karachi Press Club, singing songs of peace and harmony. “People are being murdered almost every day. Gangster mafia is on the rise and the local administration has failed to protect citizens,” Sadiq added.
Search operations are being conducted after five consecutive days of violence that gripped Karachi, a city witnessing rampant political, ethnic and sectarian clashes. The total death toll of 87, includes 11 flood victims, who were killed on Oct. 20, after assailants opened fire on a refugee camp and stole relief supplies.
The unrest also affected Church relief activities for displaced people from the southern Sindh province, worst-hit by the floods. A visit from Caritas Austria to refugee camps in Karachi last week was cancelled due to security reasons. Riaz Nawab, Caritas disaster management coordinator, said "We are continuing aid in a very tense situation and it is risky to arrange tours for foreign donors.”