Islamabad: A Sunni militant group known for targeting rival Muslims has emerged as a dangerous new player in Pakistan, sending a pair of suicide bombers this week to detonate themselves inside a church in the deadliest ever attack against Pakistani Christians.
The brutal assault, which killed 85 worshippers during Sunday services, was the first time that a militant group has taken direct aim at Pakistan's tiny Christian community.
That points to a frightening evolution in the country's multifaceted violence—threatening a new wave of bloodshed, this time targeting non-Muslim religions, which account for barely 5 percent of Pakistan's mainly Sunni Muslim population of 180 million.
Already a nervous minority, Pakistan's Christians are among the poorest in the country, often living in squalid settlements tucked away in the country's sprawling cities.
The community has come under brutal attacks before. But in most cases, they were unorganized mob attacks by radical Muslims who burned down entire Christian neighborhoods, usually over a personal or property dispute that escalated into charges a Christian committed blasphemy against Islam, stirring up a mob. Pakistan's controversial blasphemy laws have also landed dozens of Christians in jail over flimsy charges that could get them death penalties.
