Jackie Speier: “Late last month, extremist Islamist militants attacked two Ahmadiyya mosques in the central Pakistani city of…”

“Late last month, extremist Islamist militants attacked two Ahmadiyya mosques in the central Pakistani city of Lahore--with guns, grenades and suicide bombs--killing 94 people and injuring well over 100. The attackers claimed to be members of the Punjab Taliban. The victims are members of a minority Muslim sect, who, as a result of their beliefs, have been branded heretics who should be killed. I urge my colleagues to join with me to condemn this hateful act and to express our sincerest condolences to the families of those killed and to those still living in fear in Pakistan because of their sincerely held beliefs. These cowardly assaults on people of prayer are attacks against people of all faiths, and these assaults cannot be tolerated. It is time to pass House Resolution 764, which expresses the importance of interreligious dialogue and the protection of religious freedom and related human rights for persons of all faiths and nationalities in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.”