Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Pakistan steps up security after church attack ahead of Christmas

On Monday Pakistani security forces were on high alert across the country after an Islamic State suicide attack on a church killed nine people, officials said.

The assault on Sunday in Quetta, the capital of southwestern Baluchistan province, also wounded about 60 worshippers. It was the first attack on a church claimed by the IS affiliate in Pakistan.


A group funeral was held on Monday afternoon after a service by Bishop Sadiq Daniel at Quetta's Christian cemetery. Ministers, government officials and members of civil society groups attended the service.

Commemorations were held across the country. In Lahore, the capital of eastern Punjab province, Muslim and Christian leaders took part in joint special prayer services to remember the victims.

Baluchistan's provincial police chief, Moazzam Ansari, said security forces were trying to find those who orchestrated the attack.

About 400 worshippers were attending the service when two bombers carrying assault rifles stormed the church, triggering a gunbattle in which one assailant was killed by police guards and the other opened fire at worshippers and detonated his explosive vest.

A statement posted on the IS-run Aamaq news agency said two "martyrdom-seeking fighters clad in explosive vests and carrying machine guns and hand grenades attacked the church."

One of the attackers detonated his vest among the "Crusaders" while the other was killed while fighting "renegade Pakistani security forces," it said.

IS has claimed several attacks in Pakistan in recent years, though Islamabad denies the group's presence and claims it has no organized network in the country.

Prime Minister Shahif Khaqan Abbasi and army chief Gen. Qamer Javed Bajwa condemned the attack.

It was the first time IS claimed an attack on a church in Pakistan, though other Muslim extremist groups have targeted churches in the past.

The deadliest previous attack on a church was in September 2013, when twin suicide bomb blasts killed 85 people in Peshawar. Jundullah, or Army of God, then a little-known militant group, claimed responsibility.

In March 2015, two suicide bombers attacked two churches in the eastern city of Lahore, killing 15 people. The Pakistani Taliban claimed that attack.

More For You

JLR-Tata-Getty

JLR had initially planned to manufacture more than 70,000 electric vehicles at the facility. (Photo: Getty Images)

JLR halts plan to build EVs at Tata’s India plant: Report

JAGUAR LAND ROVER (JLR) has put on hold plans to manufacture electric vehicles at Tata Motors’ upcoming £775 million factory in southern India, according to a news report.

The decision was influenced by challenges in balancing price and quality for locally sourced EV components, three of the sources said. They added that slowing demand for electric vehicles was also a factor.

Keep ReadingShow less
Leicester drug supplier Sarju Khushal jailed for 11 years over £2m operation

Sarju Khushal

Leicester drug supplier Sarju Khushal jailed for 11 years over £2m operation

A MAN who supplied controlled drugs on a ‘wholesale’ scale across Leicestershire has been sentenced to 11 years in prison. Sarju Khushal, 30, was arrested in 2022 after investigations revealed he had been transporting drugs from Lancashire into the area.

Khushal, formerly of Hazeldene Road, Leicester, pleaded guilty to several charges, including the supply and conspiracy to supply class A drugs. He was sentenced at Leicester crown court last Thursday (6).

Keep ReadingShow less
Tamil Nadu Education

Tamil, one of the oldest living languages in the world, is a source of pride for the state’s people

Getty images

Education or imposition? Tamil Nadu battles India government over Hindi in schools

A war of words has erupted between Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister MK Stalin and the federal government over the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which recommends a three-language formula in schools, with two of the three being native to India. Stalin has voiced strong objections, claiming that the policy could lead to the imposition of Hindi, a northern Indian language, in non-Hindi-speaking states like Tamil Nadu. The issue has reignited old tensions between southern states and the central government over the privileging of Hindi.

Historical resistance to Hindi

Tamil Nadu has a deep-rooted history of opposing the promotion of Hindi, dating back to the 1960s. Protests broke out in the state when the federal government attempted to make Hindi the sole official language, leading to a compromise that allowed the continued use of English. Language in Tamil Nadu is not merely a means of communication but a powerful symbol of cultural identity. Tamil, one of the oldest living languages in the world, is a source of pride for the state’s people. As a result, any perceived threat to its prominence is met with strong resistance.

Keep ReadingShow less
Former Bristol MP Thangam Debbonaire enters House of Lords as Baroness

Thangam Debbonaire

Former Bristol MP Thangam Debbonaire enters House of Lords as Baroness

FORMER Bristol MP Thangam Debbonaire has taken her seat in the House of Lords after being awarded a life peerage last month.

The 58-year-old, who represented Bristol West for Labour from 2015 until July’s general election, wore the traditional scarlet robes during her introductory ceremony. She will now be known as Baroness Debbonaire of De Beauvoir Town in the London Borough of Hackney.

Keep ReadingShow less