Unidentified gunmen opened fire on policemen guarding a Catholic church in Lahore, police officials said, less than two weeks after Taleban suicide bombers killed 14 Christians and wounded more than 70 others.
Asif Khan, a local township police officer, confirmed Tuesday's attack outside St Peter's church, reported the Asian Catholic news portal ucanews.com.
"Two masked men riding a motorbike fired on policemen who were deployed outside the church," Mr Khan said. "Police retaliated, after which the assailants sped away."
Two passersby were injured in the crossfire, but no other injuries were reported, Khan said, adding that police had obtained closed circuit television footage from the church and have launched an investigation.
Local media reported that Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has directed police to submit a report of the incident.
Sardar Mushtaq Gill, a Christian rights activist and lawyer, condemned the attack.
"It is unbelievable how militants fired at the church guards and managed to flee," Gill said. "We urge the government to beef up security at churches."
He added that twin suicide bombings in Lahore earlier in March had created a sense of fear and insecurity within the Christian minority community.
The bombings, which left more than 14 dead and at least 70 others injured, also sparked riots in which two men thought to be associated with the bombers were beaten to death in a rare display of violence on the part of Christians in Pakistan.
Meanwhile police on Tuesday arrested about 200 people in Youhanabad, the Christian district of Lahore, for the lynching of two people that took place on 15 March following Taliban attacks against two churches there.
Police have also registered a complaint, or First Information Report (FIR), against 600 Christians in relation to lynching. However Fr Srif John, of the diocese of Lahore, told the Rome-based AsiaNews: "The police conducted a raid in the district and indiscriminately arrested people without identifying them based on names in the FIR. We are not opposed to the arrest of those who have done something wrong, but the arrest of innocent people is unacceptable."
The police have not disclosed where they have taken the people they have arrested. The situation in the district is tense and many people have started to leave the area, AsiaNews reported.
Loading ...
