January 1, 2003	Wednesday	Shawwal 27, 1423

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WASHINGTON, Dec 31: Pakistani Christians in America can play a positive role in increasing awareness about Pakistan in the United States, Ambassador Ashraf Jehangir Qazi told two separate Christian gatherings in Philadelphia this week.

The appeal to the Pakistani Christian community to play a “positive” role sounded strange amid increasing hate attacks on the Christians in Pakistan, the latest on the Christmas that killed three girls, including a baby who was not yet one.

The two gatherings, by the Pakistani-American Christian Association and Pakistani American Christian Coalition in Philadelphia, were organized before the attack.

If the Christians wanted, they could have asked the ambassador not to come. They did not. Instead, they welcomed him as a man representing a land they have left behind but cannot stop loving.

The pain that the Pakistani Christian community in America feels every time Christians are butchered in Pakistan showed in both the gatherings.

Some broke into tears while talking about the attacks that never seem to stop. Others choked with emotions. Some kept quiet, staring at the guest with eyes filled with tears.

Yet none of them allowed the hatred and violence the Christians face back home to overcome the love they have for the land where they never seem to get a fair treatment.

The ambassador came and, as expected, defended a government which has done little for the security of the Pakistani Christians. And he displayed no emotions while doing this unsavoury task. But those present did notice a slight wavering in his voice when he said that “the government has immediately condemned these cruel and evil acts and has done its best to apprehend the culprits and bring them to justice.”

“One wonders how our diplomats, officials and ministers feel while making such tall claims. Don’t they choke over words like peace and justice,” asked a member of the audience who was not a Christian.

“The elements who are engaged in these heinous crimes are in fact the enemies of Pakistan. The government is undertaking all possible measures to fully ensure implementation of the laws already in place to guarantee the rights of the minorities and prosecute those individuals who are found guilty of violence,” said the ambassador, causing embarrassment to many in the audience who knew too well how Pakistani governments protect minorities and their rights.

Somehow, it did not please the Pakistani Christians who seemed more concerned about the safety of those they have left behind in Pakistan than their electoral rights.