KARACHI, Pakistan — Politicians and Church leaders are appealing for calm after a Muslim mob here attacked two churches and a Christian community.

PAKISTAN - Call for calm in wake of Karachi church attacks
February 23, 2010

About 150 armed Muslims raided a Christian colony in the Pahar Ganj area of Karachi on Feb. 21. They shot at houses, beat Christians, vandalized vehicles and destroyed shops.

Four motorcycles were burnt and two auto rickshaws and several shops destroyed during the two-hour attack.

St. Jude’s High School, run by the Catholic Church, remained closed the day following the attack and only opened today [Feb. 23].

St. Mary Church of Pakistan and the Interdenominational Calvary Church were also damaged. Local Christians retaliated by pelting the Muslims with stones until rangers brought the situation under control.

“Seeing [the mob] approach the church, I closed the main gate,” Ashraf Pervaiz, a local Christian told.

“But they jumped over the gate, entered the compound and opened fire on the church. I tried to stop them but they kept beating me with sticks and weapons.”

The attack is said to have begun as a scuffle between a Muslim fruit vendor and local Christians.

“A Christian boy picked up plums from a fruit vendor’s cart. The Muslim injured him with an iron weight and was stopped by some Christian men nearby. Later he returned with the mob,” Aashiq Pervaiz, president of the Calvary Church told.

The raid is the first of its kind this year.

Christian leaders have launched Christian-Muslim talks aimed at forming a joint committee and preventing similar attacks in future.

More than 200 Christians and Muslims packed Calvary Church on Feb. 22 to discuss their options.

“Our religion speaks of love and peace. We have not registered any case in the police station even though our places of worship came under fire. We forgive the attackers but demand both communities not to give a religious tint to their personal clashes,” Aashiq Pervaiz said in his address to the gathering.

Bishop Mushtaq Anjum of Vision of Kingdom Church in Pakistan told that “personal feuds” were the most common reason for clashes between Christians and Muslims.

“The government must provide extra security to all churches in this Muslim majority country. We demand the strictest punishment for those who attack places of worship,” he said.