巴基斯坦基督教堂遭遇恐襲

At least eight people were killed and more than 50 wounded in a suicide bomb attack which targeted a Methodist church in Pakistan’s south-western city of Quetta on Sunday.

巴基斯坦西南部城市奎達(Quetta)一座衛理公會教堂週日遭遇一起自殺式炸彈襲擊，造成至少8人遇難，50多人受傷。

Two gunmen wearing vests packed with explosives stormed the church where up to 400 worshippers were gathered, just minutes after the Sunday service began.

週日禮拜開始僅幾分鐘後，兩名身穿炸彈背心的槍手衝進這個教堂，當時有多達400名信徒聚集在這裏禮拜。

The attack in the run-up to Christmas renewed fears surrounding the security of Pakistan’s Christian community who make up 1-2 per cent of the population.

發生在聖誕節前的此次襲擊令人再次對巴基斯坦基督徒羣體的安全感到擔憂，這一人羣佔巴基斯坦總人口的1%至2%。

The Isis militant group claimed responsibility through their Aamaq news service without giving further details.

“伊拉克和黎凡特伊斯蘭國”(ISIS)武裝組織通過其Aamaq新聞通訊社聲稱對此次襲擊負責，但沒有提供更多細節。

Sarfaraz Bugti, provincial minister of home affairs for Baluchistan province, of which Quetta is the capital, told reporters that the gunmen shot randomly before one of them was killed by police while another blew himself up. Two other members of the group escaped.

奎達是俾路支省首府。該省內務部長薩爾法拉茲?布格蒂(Sarfaraz Bugti)告訴記者，兩名槍手隨機朝人羣開槍，後來其中一名槍手被警方擊斃，另一個引爆身上的炸彈。該團伙的另外兩名成員逃離。

John Kenneth Williams, a retired brigadier and a Christian who is a member of the upper house of parliament, said the attack was “bound to disturb the Christian community just as the commencement of Christmas week takes place from Monday”.

身爲基督徒的退役陸軍准將、巴基斯坦議會上議院議員約翰?肯尼斯?威廉姆斯(John Kenneth Williams)表示，此次襲擊“肯定會在聖誕周從週一開始之際讓基督徒羣體感到不安”。

He added: “Efforts to improve security conditions is a continuous process but there still doesn’t seem to be adequate [progress in creating foolproof security].”

他補充稱：“改善安全狀況的努力是一個持續的過程，但在（建立可靠的安全保障方面的進展）似乎仍差強人意。”

Sunday’s attack also raised wider questions over security across Baluchistan — a region at the centre of China’s plans to invest up to U$60bn in Pakistan.

週日的襲擊事件還引發了有關整個俾路支省安全的更廣泛問題，這裏是中國在巴基斯坦高達600億美元投資計劃的中心。

China is seeking to lay an ambitious network of railway lines and roads linking western China with the Beijing-funded Gwadar port in southern Pakistan. It also plans to invest in electricity generation projects under the auspices of CPEC, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, to help Pakistan end chronic power shortages and to establish special zones for new factories.

中國計劃鋪設一個雄心勃勃的鐵路和道路網絡，連接中國西部與巴基斯坦南方由中國出資的瓜達爾港。中國還計劃在“中巴經濟走廊”(CPEC)項目的框架下投資發電項目，幫助巴基斯坦結束長期的電力短缺，併爲新工廠設立特區。

“Unless there is foolproof security in Baluchistan, China’s investment plans could suffer badly”, said the head of a prominent Pakistani business group. “It seems there isn’t enough reliable security along the CPEC route”.

“除非俾路支省能夠保障安全，否則中國的投資計劃可能嚴重受損”，巴基斯坦某知名企業集團的負責人表示，“‘中巴經濟走廊’沿線的安全保障似乎不夠可靠”。