Protestant and Roman Catholic churches in Pakistan condemned the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and appeal for international help in eradicating terrorism in their country.
According to Ecumenical News International, the National Council of Churches in Pakistan issued a statement saying,
“We earnestly appeal to the national and global communities and specifically churches to pray for the welfare of the State of Pakistan which is passing through a very difficult period of its history and to encourage the nation to bear such a big loss.”
The grouping of four Protestant churches strongly condemned “the brutal assassination” of Bhutto, who was killed on 27 December near Islamabad while campaigning for national elections. Voting has been postponed from 8 January to 18 February 2008 following the violence triggered by the assassination.
The council further urged the “global communities to help the Pakistani nation and its government machinery to eradicate the terrorism which is playing havoc with the lives of the innocent people and disturbing the peace of Pakistan and a great hurdle in the restoration of true democracy in Pakistan”.
The National Commission for Justice and Peace, a human-rights body of the Roman Catholic Church, called Bhutto’s death as “a national loss” and said the assassination “raised questions about the effectiveness of the so-called war against extremism”.
“The re-occurrence of suicide bombing manifests the impunity available to terrorists to take lives of the innocent people,” said the commission.
Calling for respect for “a soul who fought courageously to bring down hatred and division”, the commission stated that “the tragedy should be properly investigated without delay and the culprits behind this should be brought to justice”.
See Ecumenical News International: Pakistan churches urge international support after Bhutto’s death
Also: Ekklesia carries the same release.