Edinburgh: April 12, 2016. (PCP) Despite a chill breeze, Pakistani Christians and their supporters demonstrated outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh on Saturday 9th April 2015. A petition with over 950 signatures was submitted drawing the attention of Scottish MPs to the plight of Christians in Pakistan. The protest organised by the BPCA in partnership with Scottish Asian Christian Fellowship was triggered by the Easter Day massacre at Gulshan Park. Gulshan Park has become a popular location for Lahore Christians to celebrate the resurrection of Christ, after their morning devotionals, with this in mind a Taliban splinter group targeted the park for a terrorist attack. After the bomb attack Ehsan Ullah Ehsan, leader of the militant Jamat ul Ahrar claimed responsibility for the attack that killed 74 people and injured a further 360, of which many were Muslims. In a chilling statement to Pakistan's media Mr Ullah Ehsan declared that the attack was targeting Christians on Easter Day under an operation "Saut ul Raad" which will continue throughout this year. "We claim responsibility for the attack on Christians as they were celebrating Easter.”It was part of our annual martyrdom attacks we have started this year,” he said. Ehsan Ullah, added: "we had been waiting for this occasion and will continue to target Christians in their schools and places of worship." Despite this statement Pakistan's Government denies that Christians are being persecuted in their nation. Drawing on the fact that Muslims have been killed in this attack Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said the attack was an attack on all Pakistanis and thus far no extra measures have been put in place to protect the Christian minority of Pakistan. Chairman of the British Pakistani Christian Association, Wilson Chowdhry has been directly communicating with the Pakistani High Commission for some weeks on this matter. After the hanging of Mumtaz Qadri by the Pakistan's judiciary tensions towards Christian living there have increased with several churches and Christian educational groups raising concerns about threats being made of an attack. Mr Qadri assassinated the former Governor of Pakistan Salmaan Taseer, a Muslim politician who called for the abrogation of the Blasphemy law of Pakistan that is being used as a tool for discrimination against minorities and also calling for freedom of Asia Bibi a mother of five who has now served six years imprisonment under false charges. For his egalitarian views Mr Qadri was killed and 3 months later former Federal Minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti a practising Christian was fatally shot 24 times by a semi automatic gun, the shots to his face left him unrecognisable. Following usual practice the killers of the Christian politician though arrested and in police custody for a few days, were released and allowed to escape to Saudi Arabia where they were never found. Mr Chowdhry believes the escape of these killers is symptomatic of the lack of desire to punish those that persecute Christians irrespective of their role or position. Wilson Chowdhry, Chairman of the BPCA, said: "I am flabbergasted at the insouciance of the Pakistani Government. In attempting to deflect the truth they have undermined the ongoing genocide that is occurring in their nation a governance failing they choose to ignore. They have since their inception targeted Christians through the National curriculum of Pakistan which demonizes and caricatures Christians and other minorities. The text books even label Christians as spies of the west and uses further anti-Pakistani rhetoric that has served only to alienate the Muslim majority against the vulnerable Christian minority. Decades of inculcation of hatred have engineered a society easily drawn to extremism and ready to enact violence on non-Muslims. This instability however probably serves the Government of Pakistan who can garner further foreign aid from Britain and America as a consequence." Protesters also called for better treatment of the thousands of Pakistani Christians who have been stranded in countries such as Thailand, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, all of whom have been re-persecuted. These countries have a very easy protocol for tourist visa's that is relatively inexpensive a product of the significant dependency of these nations on tourism for their gross domestic product (GDP). Unfortunately for the asylum seekers who end up in these countries none of the three have signed the 1951 Convention for Asylum or the 1967 protocol, resulting in widespread abuses including arrest and detainment of UNHCR registered asylum seekers in extremely harsh conditions (including no access to medical care resulting in seven deaths this year alone). Those outside fair little better suffering extreme poverty due to inability to work and exploitation through black market employment. Concerns have also been raised about the bail fines to be paid by detainees in Thailand at the cost of £1000, which is well above the affordability of asylum seekers living there and is often paid by charities. The extortionate fees are seen as a policy for fiscal gain in which asylum seekers and refugees have become cash cows for an uncaring royal Thai Government. Worse still despite signing conventions for protection of women and children the Royal Thai Government has ruthlessly detained babies, children, new and expecting mothers. Lactating mothers have complained that the food they are eating is causing malnutrition and affecting milk production and mothers have also complained of lack of access to milk to feed their babies. Campaigners including the BPCA have complained about UNHCR delays in resettling Pakistani Christians, which is believed to be a consequence of the inappropriate staffing of investigative officers. Currently 8 permanent staff are assessing over 11,000 applications from Pakistan of which a sizeable number of asylum seekers are from the Ahmaddiyah community. Moreover, the current risk profile for Pakistani Christians is flawed with a belief that they are 'severely discriminated' and not persecuted. These two factors have meant over 50% of applications are rejected and the asylum process itself is taking up to ten years to complete, leaving victims in an extremely vulnerable condition and hostile climate. During a meeting with Wilson Chowdhry and Lord Alton a UK Peer, Peter trotter a senior protection officer stated that the UNHCR position on Thailand is taken form the current British Home Office Policy Statement in which Theresa May Home Office Minister states Christians in Pakistan are severely discriminated. Wilson Chowdhry, has explained to Mr Trotter that the BPCA believes that the UNHCR has a duty to define its own risk profile for Pakistani Christians unfettered by positions held by any member states. The BPCA has submitted an indepth report to the UK Home Office and the UNHCR in Thailand highlighting the scandal of the UNHCR in Thailand and ongoing persecution of Christians in Pakistan.