Lahore, Pakistan (Thursday, 03-26-2015, Gaudium Press) A brave young former salesian student, Akash Bashir, saved the life of many inside a Catholic Church by stopping a suicide bomber to enter St John’s Catholic Church in Lahore, during Sunday Mass. British Pakistani Christian Association reports.
Sunday 15th March was another bleak day in the on going persecution saga of Pakistani Christians. As Christians were nearing the end of their communion service at Christ Church, a congregation belonging to the Church of Pakistan, gun fire shots could be heard followed by a loud explosion. The church was being led by Reverend Irshad Ashkanaz.
Two Muslim gunmen approached the church from one side and a suicide bomber came rushing in, set on causing death and destruction. The church was being protected by a volunteer security team and Ambreen khokar (28 years), wife of Obaid Khokhar (32 Years), was killed immediately by the gunmen. Another, was critically injured, while the third, Obaid Sardar Khokhar, grappled with the suicide bomber. Obaid managed to overpower the suicide bomber and began to drag him away from the church. At this point the bomber, realising his plans to maim and kill many had failed, detonated his incendiary device.
Unknown to these victims three similar young Muslim men were about to approach the entrance of St John’s Catholic church, literally 500 yards away. While mass was being presided over by Reverend Francis Gulzar, an identical attack began. Gunmen again led the approach from one side while the suicide bomber rushed at the locked entrance gate. The bomber tried to scale a wall but 16 year old volunteer security officer, Akash Bashir, grabbed his legs and brought him down. While he bear hugged the bomber, our Chairman Wilson Chowdhry’s extended cousin Qaisor Pervez, rushed in behind and propped up the arms of the bomber preventing the device from exploding. One of the gunmen then shot the incendiary device, with the resulting explosion killing young Akash and leaving Qaisor in a coma fighting for his life.
15 people were killed instantly and 70 wounded. Ultimately it was the sacrifice of the brave Christian security team that prevented this attack delivering an even larger human death toll. Every one of them is a hero!
One victim Musa Shahzab Tanveer (18years), was outside on an errand purchasing some items for his mother. When the bomb at St james church exploded his limbs were torn off his body. His mother and young brother can be seen wailing in one of the most horrific images taken at the scene of this attack. His mother Rehana Shenaz is unable to come to terms with his loss and has been inconsolabe. She said:
“These evil men have killed my beautiful son, but he committed no crime against them. Why do they [Muslims] hate us so much?”
In the aftermath of the attack a group of young Christian men, traumatised by the death and destruction they had witnessed, took to the streets to protest. They ripped two of the gunmen apprehended by local police away from their custody, lynched and then burned them. The BPCA in no way condones such violence but we believe the hysterical condition of the men involved provides some mitigation. We hope the Pakistani legal system recognises this, despite media bias choosing to focus on the killing of Muslims by Christians rather than on the bomb attack.
Just one week later on Sunday 22nd March 2015, churches across Lahore prepared for the worst as threats had been received of an impending revenge attack. The global Pak-Christian diaspora prayed all night for the safety of their families and friends back in the homeland. Fortunately no attack manifested and our brave Pakistan Officer Mehwish Bhatti attended one of the large churches in the area in solidarity, placing her trust in God.
With information from British Pakistani Christian Association