PAKISTAN: Kohat church hit by Taliban rocket
Episcopal News Service. February 16, 2010 [021610-04]
Matthew Davies
A rocket allegedly fired by Taliban militants just before midnight on Feb. 12 hit the boundary wall of St. Augustine's Church in Kohat, causing damage to the building in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan.
"The outer wall and its pillar, windows, ceiling, doors and the air-conditioning system of the church were badly damaged, causing huge financial loss to the church and the community, but thank God there was no human loss," said a Feb. 15 e-mail message from the Church of Pakistan's Diocese of Peshawar, where the church is located.
The Christian community in Pakistan continues to deal with the immense challenges of terrorist activity and the intense military operation against the Taliban, particularly in the Swat valley and neighboring districts.
On Feb. 5, the bombing of a hospital in Karachi killed 27 people, including five Christians from two families, and left more than 100 injured.
According to Ecumenical News International, "the blast was accompanied by a simultaneous explosion in a bus, and was the work of pro-Taliban groups in Pakistan, who oppose the Pakistan government for supporting the U.S.-led coalition fight against rebel groups in neighboring Afghanistan."
The Frontier Province "nowadays is in the frontline of the war against the militancy, and Christian inhabitants of Kohat ... and other tribal areas are living in a very tense situation," the church's e-mail said. "Kindly pray for the regional peace and especially for the Christian community of the Frontier Province."
The Church of Pakistan is a united ecumenical province of the Anglican Communion that was established in 1970 with a union of Anglicans, Scottish Presbyterians (Church of Scotland), Methodists, and Lutherans.
Episcopal Relief & Development continues to support the Diocese of Peshawar in its commitment to assist internally displaced persons (IDPs) and its concern for the wellbeing of the traumatized community.