ISLAMABAD March 17: Country’s religious and political leaders have condemned the grenade attack on a church in which five worshippers were killed and many others injured on Sunday.

PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto, while condemning the terrorist act, said: “It seems that some evil forces are trying to trigger a clash of civilizations by targeting people of different faiths and their designs could usher in a dark period unless all of us unite in defeating them.”

Calling upon the people to reject politics of hate and intolerance, Ms Bhutto said: “Each one of us has a role to play in making this a world of brotherhood and harmony.”

She also criticized the government for its failure in maintaining law and order in the country.

PML(N) chief Raja Zafarul Haq said the attack sent a very wrong message to the world about government’s ability to protect lives of its citizens and it would be presumed that sufficient measures to protect the people against terrorism had not been taken.

“We condemn this act in the strongest terms as Christian fraternity has been targeted for the worst terrorism act when it was busy in its religious duty,” said PML leader. He asked the government to set up a special investigation team to arrest the culprits.

In a message faxed to Dawn from London, Chief of Mutahidda Qaumi Movement Altaf Hussain said it was extremely abhorring that the Christian community had been attacked when it was busy in its religious service.”

He said there would surely be government agencies’ hand if no culprit was arrested in such cases of sabotage. He demanded of the military government to take strict security measures for the foreign diplomats and minorities living in Pakistan.

Qazi Hussain Ahmed, chief of Jamaat-i-Islami, while speaking at a news conference, said the incident exposed complete failure of the government in protecting lives of the people and demanded a top level inquiry into the attack.

PML-QA leaders Ghulam Sarwar Cheema, Azeem Chaudhri and Yahya Munawar asked the government to take all measures to arrest terrorists.

They described the attack as an unIslamic act which should be condemned in all its forms.