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Note #8092 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

3 Pakistani terrorists sentenced
04048
January 27, 2004

3 Pakistani terrorists sentenced

Muslims convicted of killing 4 in attack on Presbyterian hospital

by Alexa Smith

LOUISVILLE - A Pakistani court has sentenced three Muslims to death after
finding them guilty of killing four women on the grounds of a Presbyterian
hospital near Islamabad in 2003.

	The women died in a grenade attack after a chapel service on Aug. 9,
2003, in Taxila. All were nurses at the hospital.

	Three other men charged in the case were set free for lack of
evidence.

	The Taxila hospital, founded in 1922, is supported by the
Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Presbyterian Church of Pakistan (PCP). It
specializes in eye diseases. Most of its patients are poor Muslims.

	The Rev. Maqsood Kamil, executive secretary of the PCP, told the
Presbyterian News Service that the denomination is satisfied with the
verdicts. "It's the government's responsibility to curb the terrorism," he
said, noting that the Christian minority is not the only group to suffer in
terrorist attacks, that Muslims also have been killed.

	Kamil said, however, that Christians take consolation in the
knowledge that the government intends to protect the rights of minorities.
"They are saying, 'We will protect you; if anybody comes after you, the
government is going to take action,'" Kamil said, adding that many Muslims
have condemned crimes against Christians.

	According to Kamil, each of the three condemned men was fined and
given eight life sentences and four death sentences.

	The Christian community in Pakistan has often been the target of the
violence, which has escalated since the United States attacked Afghanistan.
It is an expression of anti-western sentiment, according to Raafat Zaki, the
PC(USA)'s liaison to Pakistan.

	No American missionaries were in the Taxila church at the time of the
attack.

	Another Presbyterian church, about 10 miles from Islamabad, was
attacked on Christmas Day 2002, when a grenade was hurled into the building.
A nearby non-denominational school for the children of American missionaries
was forced to close.

	After the sentence was handed down, Zaki said the PC(USA) is "content
with the apparent fair process" under which the accused were prosecuted. He
did express concern, however, about the death penalty.

	"Our prayers are with the victims and their families, the
perpetrators and their families, with the Christian community and with the
Pakistani community," he said.

	There have been three attempts on the life of Pakistani President
Pervez Musharraf in the past two months.

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