The Washington DC-based human rights group International Christian Concern (ICC) has warned that attacks on Christians in Pakistan are on the rise after it learned that a drunken mob of Muslims attacked a Christian congregation in Lahore Pakistan with guns and clubs.
While no one was seriously injured in the attack on the Church of the Nazarene last month - the eighth known attack on a Pakistani church in 2006 alone - it highlights the constant hatred and persecution that Christians live under in Pakistan, ICC warned.
The human rights group said the attack on the church reveals the "woefully inadequate security cover" provided to protect the places of worship of religious minorities.
"A wave of fear and insecurity grips the already marginalised Christian community every time a church building is vandalised, stoned, or burned," ICC said.
"Attacks on churches undermine the confidence of Pakistani Christians, lower their morale, suppress their creativity and make them feel incredibly insecure in their own homeland. Many stop going to churches for an extended period of time, afraid that they themselves will be abused, stoned, or burned."
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