On Sunday (January 30), a Christian pastor was gunned down by miscreants in Madina Market in Peshawar city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The area falls within the jurisdiction of the Gulbahar police station.
As per reports, the victim was identified as one pastor William Siraj of All Saints Church. Besides, another priest named Reverend Patrick Naeem was critically injured in the gun attack.
According to the police, the pastors came under gunfire from unidentified assailants while they were travelling for personal work in a van on the Ring Road. While Siraj died on the spot, pastor Naeem was rushed to the Lady Reading Hospital. He is said to be in a stable condition now.
Pakistani Christian priest William Siraj killed & priest Rev. Patrick Naeem wounded in gun attack in Peshawar today on Sunday. #Pakistan pic.twitter.com/rrud0Jq9SS
— FJ (@Natsecjeff) January 30, 2022
The hospital authorities informed that the dead body of pastor Siraj will be handed over to his family. Meanwhile, a large contingent of police has been deployed in the crime spot. The cops have launched a search operation to nab the accused.
The dastardly attack was condemned by several people on social media. President of Bishop Church of Pakistan, Azad Marshall, tweeted, “We strongly condemn the firing on clergy of Diocese of Peshawar and instant killing of Pastor William Siraj and injuring Rev Patrick Naeem earlier today. We demand justice and protection of Christians from the Government of Pakistan.”
It must be mentioned that the pastors belonged to the All Saints Church of Peshawar, which has been operational since 1883. The Church came under a deadly terror attack in September 2013, leading to the death of over 75 people. The attack was orchestrated by two Islamist suicide bombers, belonging to the Pakistani Taliban. While taking responsibility for the attack, the Islamist outfit said that it was carried out to avenge US drone strikes in North-west tribal areas in Pakistan.
