A provincial government in southwest Pakistan plans to issue churches in the region with weapon licenses and has donated millions of rupees to a Methodist church to support victims and families of a suicide bombing that killed nine worshippers in December.
The Balochistan government notified all 41 churches in the provincial capital of Quetta on Jan. 24 to nominate security volunteers for special training under the Civil Defence Directorate.
The notices were issued following a meeting between the Implementation Minority Rights Forum (IMRF) and officials and police in Quetta last week.
“The Balochistan Home Department will issue weapon licenses in the name of the churches,” IMRF Chairman Samuel Pyara told ucanews.com.
“This will further enable a special force of volunteers to assist local police when services are held. We will form a committee to monitor these developments and settle the problems of those affected,” he said.
The Home and Tribal Affairs Department of the provincial government also granted 26.4 million rupees (US$239,000) to the Bethel Memorial Methodist Church of Quetta to compensate victims of the Dec. 17 bombing of the church.
The Federal Ministry for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony announced earlier it would allocate 5 million rupees to assist with the repairs after a government delegation visited the building at the end of last year.
