reports of further intimidation from extremist Muslims and the family of a kidnapped boy still in hiding.
"Christians throughout Pakistan are again forced to take security precautions and fear further attacks could take place this Christmas," reported Barnabas Fund, which investigates the plight of persecuted Christians in mainly Muslim nations.
Barnabas Fund said it has learned that two Muslims released on bail for last years’ deadly Christmas attack on a church threatened to kill more Christians in the same village, about 40 miles (apr. 64 kilometers), from the town of Lahore near the border with India.
GIRLS DIED
Three girls died, and 13 other Christians suffered injuries when grenades were thrown into the church in Chianwalit during a children’s Christmas program on Christmas Day 2002.
The alleged attackers, temporarily released in October, " immediately went back to the village where the attack" took place, said Barnabas Fund, which has close contacts with Christians in the area. "They were feted as heroes by the local Muslim community," the organization added.
Elsewhere children also suffer. Zeeshan Gill, a 15-year-old Christian boy from the province of Sind who was kidnapped and taken to an Islamic religious school, is now in hiding with his family after weeks of torture, BosNewsLife reported earlier this month.
GROWING VIOLENCE
Analysts have linked the signs of growing violence against Christians to their alleged support for America’s war against terrorism, amid growing Muslim influence.
Barnabas Fund said that Anwar Masih, a Christian from Shadhra Town near Lahore, is reported to have been arrested on 28 November 2003 following a complaint by a Christian convert to Islam that he had "defiled the name of Muhammad."
"It is claimed that Muslims in the vicinity also attacked Anwar’s house, damaged the property and assaulted his mother. It seems that the convert to Islam, Naseer Ahmad, had a long standing grudge against Anwar and his family and the false accusation was made in order to settle old scores."
"BLASPHEMY LAW"
Under Pakistan’s notorious “blasphemy law” defiling the name of Muhammad is a crime punishable by the death penalty or imprisonment for life, human rights watchers say.
The Government is reported to have promised a crack down against Muslim extremism, and allowed a Christian Peace March for Jesus, marking the beginning of the Christmas season, to go ahead on December 12 in Lahore.
"Hundreds of Christians marched through the streets singing hymns, carrying banners and placards, and praying for peace in the world and for religious harmony in Pakistan. Local Muslim dignitaries attended the special church ceremony marking the occasion," said Banabas Fund.
MUSHARRAF VISITS CHRISTIANS
In another gesture, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf visited this month the Forman Christian College, Lahore, which had been under government control since the 1970s. The government had announced its return to Christian control in March 2002.
The President is a graduate of the college, on this occasion formally returned the college’s management to the Presbyterian Church and restored its authority to grant degrees.
Musharraf acknowledged that the nationalization of private schools had been a "bad public policy", and he paid tribute to the contribution the Christian college had made to Pakistan’s educational system and to the quality of life in Pakistan, Barnabas Fund said.
DANGEROUS POLICY
Yet his increasingly pro-Western government policies can be dangerous in Pakistan, where 97 percent of its over 135 million population is Muslim, according to official figures.
Earlier this month Musharraf narrowly survived an assassination attempt on his life when a large bomb detonated on a bridge, 30 seconds after his motorcade had crossed in Rawalpindi, near the center of Pakistan’s military establishment, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Islamabad.
Visibly shaken, Musharraf appeared on state television and described what was by far the most serious attempt on his life since he sided with the United States in the campaign against terrorism in September 2001, news reports said.
"The bomb exploded half a minute after I crossed," Musharraf explained. "I felt the explosion in my car. That is all I know. Certainly it was me who was targeted. "I am used to such things. They have happened before. God is great. No problem, life continues," he said at the time.
