Release International

Thousands of Christians brought the city of Gujranwala to a standstill with a noisy protest over an attack on a church.

The main route through the city was blocked when the Christians parked tractors laden with rubbish across a major intersection and stayed put for over two hours.

They staged their demonstration the day after a mob started tearing down the walls of a church in Garjakh, a Christian neighbourhood of the city. RI sources say the mob was trying to seize a community centre belonging to the church.

When the pastor and a few members of his congregation intervened, the group assaulted them and started to pelt the church with stones. But the mob turned on their heels and fled when Christian neighbours arrived on the scene in large numbers.

Demonstrators on March 19 demanded that local officials arrest the masterminds behind the church attack within 24 hours – or face further protests. At the time of writing, police had made one arrest.
 
The row is apparently part of a long-standing dispute over the land the church is built on. International Christian Concern says the church bought the land from a Muslim man in the 1980s but his sons have since contested the sale.

* Thank God for the boldness of Christians in Gujranwala. Pray that the authorities will intervene to ensure the church does not suffer further attacks.

* Pray for wisdom for Pakistan's new prime minister Yusuf Raza Gillani and his government as they confront the threat of Islamist radicals in Pakistan.

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