[Today’s Prayer] Sectarian fighting death toll in Pakistan rises to 124

A conflict between Shiites and Sunnis broke out in northwestern Pakistan, killing 13 more people. The cumulative death toll has increased to 124.

According to AFP, the two sects are currently refusing a government ceasefire order and continuing to fight.

Pakistan is a Sunni-majority country, but there is a large Shia population in the Kurram region near the border with Afghanistan, where conflict has continued for decades.

The latest clashes were sparked on the 28th when two Shiite Muslim convoys traveling under police escort were ambushed, killing more than 40 people and escalating fighting that began 10 days ago.

Kurram provincial government officials said 124 people had died in the past 10 days, including two Sunnis and 11 Shiites.

"There is a serious lack of trust between the two sides, and neither sect is following government orders to cease hostilities," he said.

He added, "Police said that many people wanted to leave the area due to the violence, but that the deteriorating security situation made it impossible."

The Pakistani government ordered a seven-day ceasefire last week, but it failed to comply. It also tried to broker a ceasefire on the 27th, but failed to stop the fighting.

Source: News

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly[a] with your God (Micah 6:8)

God, we are saddened to hear that 124 people have been killed in fighting between Sunnis and Shiites in the Kurram region of northwestern Pakistan.

In Pakistan, where Sunnis are the majority, Shiites, who make up 15% of the population, hate, distrust, and dislike each other, let alone recognize each other's existence. What started as a sect has become a deep conflict that has turned them into enemies who kill each other, and many have killed or been killed in a vicious cycle of revenge.

May the souls of Pakistan, divided between Sunnis and Shiites, hating each other, in conflict and death, come to love and forgive each other by the grace of the cross of Jesus Christ, and may all the chains of sin and death that bind them be broken.

It is only You, our Lord, who can save and comfort the souls of Pakistan who are suffering and grieving day by day because they cannot leave their areas because of the fighting that the government orders and the police cannot stop. Please have mercy on Pakistan and comfort them amidst their tears and pain.

Please use the Church of Pakistan to show Your good works among the suffering people of the Kurdistan region, that they may love Jesus, be with Jesus, and fulfill the mission entrusted to them by Jesus.

Lord, who has overcome all powers of death, give us your Holy Spirit and let your presence dwell in the midst of the Pakistani church, that we may turn to you in prayer and proclaim the gospel with boldness during this difficult time of suffering and fear.

May the Church in Pakistan be revitalized by the Gospel, and may the Pakistani people, who have been in bondage to Islam, throw off all yokes by the Gospel and return to You with joy!

And may the Pakistani people now be raised up as the final weapon of the gospel among all the nations, so that through Pakistan all the peoples of Persia and all the nations of the world may come to You!