The Easter Sunday bombing in Lahore in which 74 people, mainly women and children, died and 320 were injured, is the latest in a long line of attacks on the Christian community in Pakistan. Not all victims were Christian, but the Taliban have con-firmed that they were the intended target. Pakistan has a population of 190 million people with 2 million Christians.
Interviewed on BBC after the bombing, Bishop Nazir Ali said: ‘Legal discrimination against Christians was embedded in law in Pakistan 25–30 years ago. There is also social discrimination in employment, housing opportunities and schooling.’ 1
Bishop Nazir Ali, who was in Lahore over Easter for a wedding, wrote: ‘We need to address the underlying issues, which are about common citizenship, one law for all, the equality of all under the law and the prevention of the teaching of hate in textbooks, religious schools and by some religious leaders.’
