Pastor Patrick Naeem say’s servants of God cannot hate after surviving gun attack

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London: (By Hannah Chowdhry) On Monday 31st January the funeral rites of Pastor William Siraj who was shot dead in a terrorist attack, were performed at All Saints Church, Peshawar.

Thousands of Christians from around the county attended his funeral.

BACA officer sprinkles rose petals over grave of Pastor William

 At 4pm, Tuesday, 1st February, BACA’s team visited Peshawar to attend a memorial service also held at All Saints Church.

Memorial service at all Saints for Pastor William Siraj (RIP)

BACA representatives also met with attack survivor Pastor Patrick Naeem and we presented him with a bouquet of flowers.

Pastor Patrick told us that Pastor William was a faithful servant of the Lord, who remained faithful till his death.  He believes that Pastor William is among the souls under the alter of the Lord mentioned in Revelation chapter six.  Pastor William, said:

 “We have no enmity with anyone.

“The Church has been persecuted for ages.

The persecution of the people of the Lord is not new”

Our officers then met with Adan William ( 33 yrs) the son of Pastor William.  They prayed with Adan and heard some wonderful accounts of the wonderful things Pastor William had done in his life.  Adan said:

 “It’s the Lord’s will which has been done.

“All Saints Church was attacked by terrorists in 2013 in which my sister Shumila Robin lost her husband.

“Our family has suffered a lot to extremists but we have no enmity with anyone”

BACA offered to cover the cost of the funeral which Adan politely declined saying:

“You have come share our pain and show us your love.

“It’s enough for us”

Pastor William Siraj and Pastor Patrick Naeem were shot at by gunmen on two motorcycles while driving home after a service At All Saints Church, Peshawar, yesterday.  Read more .

All Saints Church also witnessed a terrorist attack in 2013 and BACA were actively involved in bringing comfort and solace to over a 100 families at the time.  Read more (here) and (here).

On Sunday 30th January 2022, Pastor William and his assistant Pastor Naeem finished their church service, locked their building and  headed homeward to Kohati, where pastor William Siraj lives.

Before they could finish their journey two motorcyclists, one wearing a helmet and the other a headscarf rode in front of them.  Both riders then aimed pistols at the car of Pastor Naeem and let fire, they then fled from the gaze of the many people who saw the attack near Madina Market.

Police reached the crime scene within 30 minutes, cordoned of the area, gathered evidence and recorded the statements of several eye witnesses. Despite a large number of witnesses police do not have registration details for the motorcycles and the armed gunmen have not been identified.  However, CCTV footage is also being checked for any information that can lead to the arrest of the gunmen.

Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Abbas Khan spoke to media, he said:

“The attack on the Christian community was tragic.

“According to initial reports, there were two attackers involved in the incident.

“A comprehensive investigation has been launched,

“Members of the minority community were targeted, this is a terrorist act.”

He added:

“In the past, the police have identified the perpetrators of attacks targeting minorities

“the same would also be done in this case.

“We are conducting geo-fencing and looking at other data.”

On 31st January after a post-mortem emergency services handed over the dead body of Pastor William Siraj to his family. The last rites for the Pastor were carried out at All Saints Church, Peshawar at 2:00 pm today.

Clergy of Church of Pakistan from around the country arrived at Peshawar to attend the funeral of Pastor William and to say their goodbyes or pay their last respects. Pastor Patrick Naeem also attended the funeral, he had recovered well from his injuries after treatment at Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar.

An extremely large number of Christians from different walks of life arrived at All Saints Church to attend the funeral of the deceased, the number was over a thousand. Our BACA representative in Peshawar also attended the funeral and left flowers on the coffin of Pastor William as we too said goodbye to a faithful servant of Christ.

Bishop Azad Marshal has demanded the protection of minorities from the Government of Pakistan. He tweeted:

“We demand justice and protection of Christians from the Government of Pakistan”

Tomorrow the BACA team shall be visiting the family of Pastor William Siraj and Patrick Naeem. We will be offering to cover the  medical costs treatment of Pastor Patrick Naeem, who survived this attack.

Mourners sobbed at the funeral of a much loved Pastor

Juliet Chowdhry, said:

“The burial of Pastor William Siraj was a sombre event but the huge numbers that gathered, illustrates how far the impact of his death has been felt.

“The passing away of a Pastor in such a violent manner has been a real shock to the community.

“The fact that the killers are not known and are still able to enact more carnage is a frightening prospect.

“Especially for those at All Saints, who have already suffered the worst terrorist attack on a church in Pakistan’s history in 2013.

She added:

“The Pakistani Government have failed to protect our minority and this takes an increasing toll on the Christian community’s morale.

“Even then we continue to go to church, we pray and we trust God.

“When will these terrorists realise that their attacks serve only to galvanise us.

“They can kill our friends and our families, they can end our earthy bodies, but in the end we will gain eternal life.

“That is something  Pak Christians are not willing to relinquish.”

 

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"Trial of Pakistani Christian Nation" By Nazir S Bhatti

On demand of our readers, I have decided to release E-Book version of "Trial of Pakistani Christian Nation" on website of PCP which can also be viewed on website of Pakistan Christian Congress www.pakistanchristiancongress.org . You can read chapter wise by clicking tab on left handside of PDF format of E-Book.

nazirbhattipcc@aol.com , pakistanchristianpost@yahoo.com