Easter should be a joyful time for family gatherings but for one family in the Pakistani province of Balochistan their celebrations came to a sudden and brutal end.
Four members of the same family, who had come together for Easter from different parts of Pakistan, were shot dead on Monday by terrorists deliberately targeting Christians.
The Masih family had just got into a rickshaw in Quetta when two attackers opened fire, killing four of them instantly. Sidra, the 12-year-old daughter of one of those murdered, suffered bullet wounds – but survived.
Please pray that God will comfort Sidra and her family and friends.
Sidra’s father, Pervaiz Masih, owned the rickshaw and was transporting relatives who were visiting from Punjab when the gunmen struck.
Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that it had ‘managed to target a number of the combatant Christians’ – though police have suggested other extremist groups may be to blame.
- Thank God that Sidra survived and ask Him to heal her as she recovers in hospital. Ask Him to comfort grieving members of her family.
- Pray for Christians in the provincial capital Quetta where extremist groups are targeting Christians, including through in a suicide bombing at a Methodist church just before Christmas.
- Pray that extremists in Pakistan will become weary of their violence and bloodshed and start to question why they feel so threatened by Christians. Pray that they will encounter Christ. #Pray50
(Source: Morning Star News)
UPDATES
Our Algerian brother Slimane Bouhafs has been released from jail after serving his sentence. Slimane had been detained since 2016 – for sharing material on Facebook which officials considered insulting to Islam. During his imprisonment, he was attacked by fellow inmates after a sermon by an imam inciting hatred towards Christians. (Source: Middle East Concern)
Please pray for our Chinese brother Zhang Kai, who fears he may be imprisoned again over his legal work in Zhejiang province. A prosecutor in Wenzhou city, where Zhang defended churches facing cross removal, recently summoned him for interrogation, Zhang says. Zhang has been living in Inner Mongolia since he was released on bail in March 2016 after a televised ‘confession’ to charges including ‘spying’. He had been held for seven months in an illegal detention centre where he was tortured. (Source: China Aid)