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‘Until everyone is safe, no one is safe’: British HC reacts to Peshawar priest killing

Pastor William Siraj

‘Until everyone is safe, no one is safe’: British HC reacts to Peshawar priest killing

A day after gunmen killed a Christian priest and wounded another as they drove home from church in Peshawar on Sunday, British High Commissioner to Pakistan Christian Turner said that “until everyone is safe, no one is safe” in Pakistan.

Read more: Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid promises building ‘Christian Colony’ in Islamabad

The UK envoy took to Twitter on Monday and said that “minority rights are the most important aspect of the foundation of Pakistan.”

“Until everyone is safe, no one is safe. [The] UK stands in solidarity with the Christian community in Pakistan.”

Two attackers on a motorcycle opened fire on the car of the Christian priests on Peshawar’s ring-road, killing Pastor William Siraj instantly, said Reuters.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the shooting in a city where scores of people died in a twin suicide bombing outside a church in 2013 – one of the deadliest attacks on Pakistan’s Christian minority.

Azad Marshall, the most senior bishop in the Church of Pakistan, condemned the attack and tweeted: “We demand justice and protection of Christians from the Government of Pakistan.”

Pastor Siraj’s colleague – named by Bishop Azad as the Reverend Patrick Naeem – was out of danger and being treated for his injuries, a spokesperson for Reading hospital said.