Ten years on: Former Grangemouth minister reflects on Pakistan bombing that led to deaths of mother and 19 relatives

Rev Aftab Gohar said he found peace through the teachings of Jesus Christ following a double suicide bomber attack at All Saints Church in Peshawar, Pakistan on September 22, 2013.

Worshippers had just left the building when two explosions ripped through the crowd, killing 122 people and injuring more than 250.

Among them was Mr Gohar’s 79-year-old mother, Iqbal Gohar, his nieces, nephews, cousins, uncles, aunts and friends.

The minister received a text message on the day to tell him of the explosion shortly before he was due to take the Sunday service at Abbotsgrange Church in Grangemouth. After managing to speak to his mother, he went ahead with the service so as not to disappoint his parishioners, only telling them afterwards what had happened.

His mother later died of her wounds.

Now the minister of Eddlestone, Peebles Old Parish, and Stobo and Drumelzier churches in the Scottish Borders, he said they “died for their faith” and said surviving family members miss them all terribly.

Founded in 1947, Pakistan's constitution gives every citizen ‘the right to profess, practice, and propagate his religion'.

However, the official religion is Islam, religious minorities are frequently attacked and Pakistan's blasphemy laws have been used to discriminate against non-Muslims.

Mr Gohar said he believed that the controversial law is used to justify attacks, such as a spate of church and house burnings in Jaranwala near Faisalabad last month.

Last week, he and other campaigners handed over a petition to Syed Zahid Raza, Consul General of Pakistan for Scotland and Northern Ireland, at the Consulate of Pakistan in Glasgow.

It called on the government of Pakistan to improve safety for religious minorities and use the blasphemy law to punish those who desecrate Bibles and burn down churches and homes.

On 22 September, 2013, Mr Gohar was preparing to lead a church service when he received a text message to say there had been a bombing in Pakistan and his mother and other relatives had died.

Reflecting on that period of his life, the minister said: “It was a very hard time for us all . They all died for their faith.

“It was hard for me to forgive those responsible but with the strength of God I did so and freed myself from the extra burden of hatred and revenge.”

“

In the aftermath of the atrocity The Falkirk Herald launched an appeal to bring Mr Gohar’s niece, Farah Javed, to the UK to receive vital treatment to help her to regain mobility following the injuries she received.

Thousands of pounds were raised but sadly, Farah died, aged only 24, in January 2015 just weeks before she was due to fly to this country to begin therapy.

Mr Gohar grew up in Peshawar and attended All Saints Church with his family.

He was ordained into the Church of Pakistan in 1995 and first came to Scotland to study at the University of Edinburgh for a year in 1998-99.

He returned again to the country to work as full-time minister in 2008, serving Abbotsgrange Parish Church in Grangemouth until his move to the Scottish Borders last year.

Mr Gohar and his wife Samina and their two grown up sons, Shahan, and Zeeshan, are now British citizens.

The minister said the loss of this family was acutely felt at Shahan’s wedding in Pakistan last year.

The Church of Scotland has an official partnership with the Church of Pakistan, which is marking the 10th anniversary of the atrocity.

Rt Rev Sally Foster-Fulton, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, herself a former minister at Camelon Parish Church, said: “Our thoughts and prayers are with our brothers and sisters in Christ in Pakistan as they mark the anniversary of this horrific and unjustified attack on peaceful church goers.

“We are united in sorrow as we reflect on the impact this atrocity had on the families of the victims and survivors and sadly Christians continue to be persecuted today.

“The Church continues to engage with ecumenical and international partners on the misuse of the blasphemy law and we call on the government of Pakistan to redouble its efforts to protect minority groups.”