“Mere statements of condemnation and quotes from The Holy Scriptures are not enough. We as a nation have reached a breaking point that ‘enough is enough.’ ” Bishop Samuel Azariah

[28 March 2016] Bishop Samuel Azariah, the President Bishop of Church of Pakistan condemns in strongest terms the terrorist attack in Gulshan Iqbal Park Lahore, claiming lives of innocent people.

Bishop Samuel Azariah, Bishop Irfan Jamil (Bishop of Lahore) and Bishop Mano Rumalshah (Bishop Emeritus of Peshawar) expressed their deepest condolences to the bereaved families and prayed for peace and speedy recovery to those who were injured in the blast.

The Lahore blast has taken lives of over 72 people and left over 300 injured, many of them children and women, when a suicide bomber blew himself up at Gulshan Iqbal Park on Easter evening.

Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, one of the largest parks of Lahore, is usually packed with visitors on weekends. But there was an extraordinary rush Sunday evening as a large number of Christians had turned up to celebrate Easter. 

Following the blast, the President Bishop of Church of Pakistan visited the hospitals to console pray for the injured and analyze the situation.
Bishop Azariah, who actively participates in promoting interfaith activities, stated that such acts weaken and damage the struggle and effort toward bringing a relation of peace and harmony between Christians and Muslims. 

It is unfortunate that these inhuman terrorists identify themselves as Muslims and by performing such barbaric acts damage the image of their faith community. In a context of this nature, it is the primary responsibility of our majority brothers and sisters from the Muslim community to identify, silence and eliminate this minority. This minority claims to be the real Muslims, and primarily acts against the teaching of Islam and this should be resolved. 

Mere statements of condemnation and quotes from The Holy Scriptures are not enough. We as a nation have reached a breaking point that ‘enough is enough.’ How many more soft targets have to be sacrificed?