Christians to boost security after Lahore church attack

Christians in Lahore are ramping up security measures following a recent shooting at a Catholic church in the Punjab capital. 

Two gunmen on motorcycles opened fire at the main door of St. Joseph Catholic Church, in the city's Dhup Sarri colony in the early hours of June 4.

Nobody was hurt in the incident, which caused some minor damage to the church building and a nearby school. 

Meanwhile, police have launched a manhunt for the gunmen and placed the church under 24-hour guard. Police have yet to establish a motive for the attack.

"Perhaps the culprits meant to stoke sectarian tensions in the area. Damaging a place of worship is wicked," Iqbal Hasan, a police officer at Sanda police station told ucanews.com. 

In response to the attack, local Christians said they can not rely on police to protect them and met on June 8 with the assistant parish priest to discuss their own security measures. 

Several measures were agreed upon at the meeting that included improved CCTV surveillance, using armed guards and installing security barriers around the church, assistant parish priest Father Asif Sardar said.  

"This is the second time this community has been targeted. I have asked people not to be afraid and refrain from any retaliation. We need to be careful and think of our children. God is the greatest protector," he said.

On May 24, 2015, a mob went on the rampage in Dhup Sarri colony after man with psychiatric problems was accused of burning pages of the Quran. The windows of St. Joseph Church were broken during the unrest.