Hundreds attended a prayer service and a vigil Tuesday night in Surrey, B.C., to commemorate the victims of a recent terrorist attack in Lahore.
SURREY – About 125 people gathered at Surrey’s Holland Park on Tuesday night to honour the victims of an Easter Sunday terrorist attack in Lahore, Pakistan.
The suicide bombing took place in a park that was crowded with families, with many women and children among the victims. More than 65 people were killed.
A prayer service was held at the Fiji Islamic Centre in Surrey on Monday night, and a candlelight vigil has been organized for Tuesday night at Holland Park.
“What breaks my heart is they came after little children,” Haroon Qaiser, vice president of the Pakistani Canadian Cultural Association, told CBC News.
“These little children are very fragile and they’re fighting for their lives in hospitals as we speak.”
Pakistani-Canadian Christians were celebrating Easter Sunday when they learned of the attacks. The news travelled quickly across the globe — and with it, grief.
Qaiser says he was getting ready for church with his family when he found out about the bombing. He says he knows several families whose loved ones were killed or seriously injured.
“Pray. Pray for the children. Pray for those who are fighting for their lives,” he said. “There is very little that we can do right now but show our support and our solidarity.”
Many in B.C.’s Pakistani community are familiar with the park where the attack took place.
“I’ve taken my children there. It’s a beautiful place, it’s like an oasis,” said Haroon Khan, president of the Pakistan Canada Association.
“To have this happen, to have this horror visit innocent women and children is truly heartbreaking.”
The events are being organized by Christians and Muslims and members of other faiths; everyone is welcome.
Organizers say the events are about bringing together people from all different backgrounds and faiths so they can pray for the victims of the attack.
Qaiser says it’s important to remember many Muslims died, too.
“We have received with great shock (the) terrible news of the terrorist attack in Lahore on Easter Day,” said a statement by Naveed Waraich, general secretary of the Surrey-based Pakistani-Canadian Cultural Association of B.C. “We strongly condemned this act of terrorism and brutal victimization of innocent people in Pakistan as this is not what Islam has taught us as a religion of peace and harmony.”
Waraich said news of the bombing, which targeted Christians in the capital of Pakistan’s Punjab province, trickled down to the local community early Sunday morning and he started getting phone calls from concerned members.
“The fact this happened on Easter Sunday — that day is very important,” he said.
