Pakistan (MNN) ― Al-Qaeda-Taliban jihadist attacks in Pakistan have steadily increased over the past two months, the World Evangelical Alliance reports.
Terrorists now are poised to overtake the capital city of the North West Frontier Province. Strategically located on the road to Afghanistan, the capital is a center for both military deployments and aid distribution. Jihadists already control most of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan, and a total al-Qaeda-Taliban takeover would not only be devastating for global security but for the three million Christians living in Pakistan.
Starting with the September 13 bombing of a Marriott Hotel in the heart of Pakistan's capital city, terrorist attacks have continued to increase in severity and frequency. Over 250 people were wounded in the bombing, and 80 perished. A slight surge occurred two weeks ago; six people were attacked over the course of three days. Gunmen ambushed a vehicle traveling through Peshawar's "high security zone" on November 12, killing an American aid worker and his driver. The next day, an Iranian diplomat was abducted by terrorists after they killed his escort. On November 14, two foreign journalists were shot and wounded in a botched kidnapping.
Over the past few decades, Christians in Pakistan have seen their rights and security steadily decline. The nation's anti-blasphemy law is one of the most infamous and unjust forms of religious persecution. Under this law, anyone accused of blasphemy against Islam or the prophet Mohammed can be immediately arrested; no evidence is needed. Years later a trial is held under a heavy cloud of Islamic threats and mass hysteria. The threat of this law is a choke collar on every Pakistani Christian.
Extremists hold their power through terror and regular executions of anti-Taliban Pashtun tribal elders, who are considered "traitors." Although the majority of urban Pakistanis desperately want a much-needed wide-scale reform, Wahhabist clerics ensure that any social, political, legal or religious reform is permanently blockaded. These clerics hold power by their ability to mobilize strikes and riots.
