LAHORE, Oct 28: Various political parties and Christian organizations have condemned the terrorist attack on a Bahawalpur church in which 16 persons were killed on Sunday morning.

Millat Party president Farooq Leghari termed it a sorry incident aimed at creating misunderstanding between Muslim and Christian communities. This conspiracy would never succeed, he said.

He demanded a probe into the incident, and said it required to award deterrent punishment to the culprits.

PML-QA president Mian Azhar termed the incident a conspiracy to destabilize the country. He alleged the Indian agency RAW was involved in terrorism. “It has been unleashed at a time when Pakistan is playing as the front line state in international drive against terrorism and India, disturbed by this, is conducting sabotage activities here,” he said.

He said by conducting such activities, India wanted to give a wrong impression to the world that minorities were not safe in Pakistan. He urged the government to forthwith take into confidence the Christian community and nab the real culprits belonging to RAW.

JUP chief Maulana Noorani said no Muslim could indulge in activities such as the killing of prayer-goers in a church. This was done by Indian secret agencies which wanted to incite Muslim-Christian clashes, he said.

Talking to workers after reaching Lahore, the Maulana said the killers were anti-Islam and anti-Pakistan as Muslims considered the protection of the life and property of Christians and other minorities as important as their own safety.

He alleged that the terrorist activity might have also been conducted by American and Jewish secret agents who were present in Pakistan.

PML Foreign Committee chairman Mian Abdul Wahid said it was an Indian conspiracy against the Muslim-Christian brotherhood and solidarity of Pakistan.

He said after getting unnerved over Pakistan’s role in international drive against terrorism and to divert the attention of Pakistan from Kashmir, India was now resorting to mean tactics. But Pakistan would give it the matching reply at every front, he said.

Lahore Bishop Dr Alexander John Malik said: “The people were killed by the terrorists who have no morals or principles as no religion allows such acts especially against a peace-loving and worshipping community.”

He urged the government to arrest the culprits at the earliest and provide security and protection to the Christian community. He appealed to all the Christians to remain calm and show patience and “let not the extremists and enemies of Pakistan fulfil their nefarious designs”.

Emanuel Yousaf Mani and Peter Jacob of the National Commission for Justice and Peace urged the Christian community to remain calm. The chaos the terrorists wanted to spread in the country should be fought with tolerance and forgiveness, they said.

Criticizing the killings, Christian Liberation Front Pakistan president Shahbaz Bhatti urged the government to take steps to protect the life and property of the Christians. He demanded that the government should ban and disarm all militant organizations responsible for spreading religious terrorism in the country.

Jamaat-i-Islami amir Qazi Husain Ahmad who addressed a rally in Lahore also condemned the Bahawalpur killings and said no Muslim could resort to such an action.

He said those indulged in sectarian violence were playing the game of the enemy. Unity among the people was the need of the hour, he said, urging the people to foil all nefarious designs of the enemies.

JUI-S chief Maulana Samiul Haq also condemned the killings, and said no religious group could be involved in such activities and the government must arrest the culprits at the earliest.