WASHINGTON, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- U.S.-based Pakistani Christians on Friday accused Pakistan's President, Pervez Musharraf, of allowing Muslim fanatics to kill minorities because, they said, he fears that interfering with the groups could destabilize his government.
Representatives of various Pakistani Christian organizations in the United States gathered in the Pakistan Embassy in Washington Thursday evening to protest the killings earlier this week of Christian charity workers in the port city of Karachi. Seven people were tied up and shot in the head at point-blank range. The gunmen escaped.
"The general cannot control the fundamentalists," said Anjum Bhatti, general secretary of the Christian League of Pakistan. "He is too concerned about staying in power."
Manny Alam, president of the Pakistani-American Christian Association, said no one tried to rescue the victims.
"While all this was happening, no one came to their rescue although the office is located in a 12-story commercial building," he said.
The Christian delegation also handed over a protest note to Pakistan's ambassador, Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, reminding him that since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, at least 36 Christians have been killed in Pakistan.
"The killings have continued despite the Musharraf government's rhetoric against the extremists," Bhatti said. "This never-ending cycle of violence could not have continued, had the government been serious in fighting it."
The delegation accused the Pakistani police and intelligence agencies of allowing the killings to continue.
Christians say they are being punished for Musharraf's decision to dump Pakistan's former Taliban allies and join the U.S.-led war on terror. Dozens of moderate Muslims, who support the government's decision, have also been killed in these attacks.
The Christians say Muslim extremists are targeting them because they see America as a Christian power and want to hurt Americans by killing Christians.
"The wiping out of the Karachi Institute of Peace and Justice is not a solitary incident," said Victor Gill, chairman of the Christian Voice of Pakistan, another U.S.-based Christian advocacy group. "It is indicative of a trend."
"Why is it the Christian charities that are attacked? Why not Muslim charities?" he asked.
Christians say although it's a tiny minority that targets them, Pakistan's Muslim majority encourages them by remaining silent.
The delegation urged Pakistani Muslims to rise against the extremists and prevent them from attacking Christians.
"We Christians are as much Pakistanis as any other group," he delegation said. "We have been living in that land for centuries and we will be living there forever. The extremists cannot force us to quit Pakistan."
The Christians urged the Pakistani government to create a homeland security organization, like the one established in the United States after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, to protect non-Muslim minorities.
They also demanded logistical support for the minorities to fight the extremists and demanded that anti-Christian laws, such as the blasphemy law, be changed.
"Can the Pakistani government truly say that it is fighting terrorism and not secretly harboring it?" the delegation asked.
Christians comprise less than 3 percent of Pakistan's 144 million population.
