Persecution

Hundreds detained in Pakistan Easter attack - UPI.com
UPI reports: "More than 200 people have been detained and thousands questioned in the deadly Easter attack in Pakistan's populous Punjab region over the weekend, government officials said Tuesday. Sunday's bombing at Gulshan-i-Iqbal park in Lahore killed at least 72 people, officials confirmed, and that toll is expected to rise in the coming days. [...]  Taliban offshoot Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, which claimed responsibility for the bombing, said it had targeted members of Pakistan's minority Christian community with the blast. Most of those killed, though, were Muslims, officials said."

Pakistan's Christians call for protection, unity after Easter bomb - Reuters
Reuters reports: "Two days after the attack, a sense of vulnerability is growing among members of the Christian community, who are calling on the government of Muslim-majority Pakistan to do more to protect them. Christians, who number around 2 million in a nation of 190 million people, have been the target of a series of attacks in recent years."

Comment: Please join me in praying for the persecuted church in Pakistan, that they will endure persecution with grace, faith and forgiveness.  Pray also for the security services, that they will bring the perpetrators to justice and for the government, for their resolve to finally deal with the Islamic militants that many officials have tolerated (and even actively supported) over the years.