QUETTA, Pakistan: Pakistan deployed commandos inside and around a church in the southwestern city of Quetta Monday as its grieving but defiant congregation marked Christmas days after they were targeted in a deadly Daesh-claimed attack.
Snipers were positioned on top of the church, as survivors spoke of their lost loved ones and called for the congregation to be armed at a quiet, somber service.
One injured survivor burst into tears while approaching the altar to receive Communion, with other members of the congregation weeping as they watched.
“It is normally a joyful day, but it is painful... for all of us that attended the service while remembering the day of attack, as well as our near and dear,” said one young worshipper, Aftab.
The suicide bomb attack last Sunday killed nine people and wounded 30 during a service at the Methodist church in Quetta, capital of restive Balochistan province.
Officials have said police intercepted and shot dead one attacker outside the church before he could detonate his bomb. But the second managed to reach the church’s main door, where he blew himself up.
The church had been more crowded than usual that day as it was close to Christmas.
On Monday, the congregation was smaller, down to about 250 instead of its usual 350 or so, despite the heavy deployment of police and paramilitary troops.
“Fear was haunting us during the service,” said Rukhsana Nazir, a mother who added that six of her relatives were wounded in the attack.
However, other survivors, including Nazir’s 13-year-old daughter Sheeza, said they felt no fear as they had put their faith in God.
The service was also attended by some local Muslim leaders and politicians as a show of solidarity.
The church itself was first established in 1890, officials there told AFP. Its Reverend Simon Bashir said he has been calling for greater security there for nearly a decade.
Some worshippers said they should be allowed to carry weapons to services, fearing future attacks.
One of the injured, 40-year-old Kashif Shamshad, said they would raise the issue “as we are under threat.”
The head of the Karachi-Balochistan Diocese, Bishop Sadiq Daniel, who visited Quetta for the service, agreed.
He said the idea has already been proposed to the police, who have asked the community to send them volunteers for weapons training.
Christians make up less than two percent of Pakistan’s 207 million people and have long faced discrimination in the conservative Muslim country — sidelined into low-paying jobs and sometimes the target of trumped-up blasphemy charges.
Along with other religious minorities, the community has also been targeted by extremist militants over the years.
In 2013, 82 people were killed when suicide bombers attacked a church in the city of Peshawar.
And last year, Lahore suffered one of Pakistan’s deadliest attacks — a suicide bombing in a park that killed more than 70 people, including many children, on Easter.
Grieving Pakistani Christians mark Christmas days after Daesh attack
Grieving Pakistani Christians mark Christmas days after Daesh attack
Airspace closed, flights canceled as US-Iran conflict flares
- Major carriers from the Middle East, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the US announced widespread cancelations
- FlightAware said more than 19,000 flights had been delayed globally and more than 2,600 were canceled as of Sunday
PARIS: Thousands of flights have been delayed or canceled in the biggest disruption to global air transport since the Covid pandemic as airlines suspend services to the Middle East following the US and Israeli attacks on Iran.
Iran, Iraq, Israel, Syria, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates all announced at least partial closures of their skies after Saturday’s strikes and Iran launching missiles at capital cities around the wealthy Gulf region.
Major carriers from the Middle East, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the United States announced widespread cancelations, leaving thousands of passengers stranded.
Notable airlines that canceled services included Emirates, Etihad, Air France, British Airways, Air India, Turkish Airlines, and Lufthansa.
According to aviation analytics company Cirium, of around 4,218 flights scheduled to land in Middle Eastern countries on Saturday, 966 (22.9 percent) were canceled, with the figure rising above 1,800 if also including outbound flights.
For Sunday, 716 flights out of 4,329 scheduled to the Middle East have been canceled, Cirium said.
Flight tracking website FlightAware meanwhile said more than 19,000 flights had been delayed globally and more than 2,600 were canceled as of 0230 GMT Sunday.
Airspace closures
Iran swiftly closed its airspace as the strikes began “until further notice,” said the spokesman of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization, quoted by the Tasnim news agency.
Israel also closed its airspace to civilian flights, Transport Minister Miri Regev announced.
Qatar’s civil aviation authority said it had temporarily closed the Gulf state’s airspace.
Iraq shut down airspace, state media said.
The United Arab Emirates said it was closing its skies “partially and temporarily.”
Syria closed part of its airspace in the south along the border with Israel for 12 hours, the Civil Aviation Authority said.
Jordan’s air force was conducting drills to “defend the kingdom’s skies,” its military said.
Kuwait closed its airspace.
Middle East and North Africa airlines
Gulf carriers Emirates and Etihad canceled 38 percent and 30 percent of their flights respectively, Cirium said.
Qatar Airways suspended all flights from Doha. It canceled 41 percent of total flights, according to Cirium.
Syria Air, the country’s national carrier, canceled all flights until further notice.
Egypt’s national airline, EgyptAir, announced the suspension of its flights to cities across the Middle East, including Dubai, Doha, Manama, Abu Dhabi, Beirut and Baghdad among others.
European airlines
Russia’s air transport authority Rosaviatsia said all commercial flights to Israel and Iran were canceled “until further notice.”
Turkish Airlines canceled flights to Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Jordan until March 2.
Air France canceled its Dubai, Riyadh and Beirut flights for Saturday, and flights to Tel Aviv until Sunday.
British Airways said it was not flying to Tel Aviv and Bahrain until March 4, and canceled flights to the Jordanian capital Amman on Saturday.
Swiss International Air Lines suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv until March 7, and canceled flights from Zurich to Dubai scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.
Germany’s Lufthansa, which comprises Swiss and ITA Airways, canceled its flights to and from Tel Aviv, Beirut, Amman, Irbil and Tehran until March 7.
The airline group and its subsidiaries suspended flights to and from Dubai and Abu Dhabi until Sunday.
North America airlines
Delta Air Lines suspended New York-Tel Aviv flights until Sunday.
American Airlines “temporarily suspended” Doha-Philadelphia flights.
United flights to Tel Aviv are canceled until Monday, and flights to Dubai until Sunday.
Air Canada said it canceled flights from Canada to Israel until March 8 and to Dubai until March 3.
Asia-Pacific airlines
India’s two largest private carriers IndiGo and Air India suspended flights to all destinations in the Middle East.
Pakistan International Airlines, the flag carrier of the country that borders Iran, said it had suspended flights to the UAE, Bahrain, Doha and Kuwait.
Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific suspended flights to Dubai and Riyadh.
Garuda Indonesia, Indonesia’s flag carrier, temporarily suspended flights to and from Doha “until further notice,” the company said in a statement Sunday.
Singapore Airlines and Singapore’s Scoot canceled six flight routes in the region until the end of Sunday, local media reported.
Philippine Airlines flights from Manila to Doha, Riyadh to Manila, and Dubai to Manila were canceled on Saturday, as well as one Doha-Manila flight on Sunday.
Other major airlines including Australia’s Qantas and Japan’s All Nippon Airways did not announce any flight cancelations.
Africa airlines
Ethiopian Airlines canceled its flights to Amman, Tel Aviv, Dammam, and Beirut.
Kenya Airways has suspended its flights to Dubai and Sharjah until further notice.
