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达(Quetta)一座卫理公会教堂周日遭遇一起自杀式炸弹袭击，造成至少8人遇难，50多人受伤。

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

周日礼拜开始仅几分钟后，两名身穿炸弹背心的枪手冲进这个教堂，当时有多达400名信徒聚集在这里礼拜。

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.

发生在圣诞节前的此次袭击令人再次对巴基斯坦基督徒群体的安全感到担忧，这一人群占巴基斯坦总人口的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兰国”(ISIS)武装组织通过其Aamaq新闻通讯社声称对此次袭击负责，但没有提供更多细节。

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.

奎达是俾路支省首府。该省内务部长萨尔法拉兹•布格蒂(Sarfaraz Bugti)告诉记者，两名枪手随机朝人群开枪，后来其中一名枪手被警方击毙，另一个引爆身上的炸弹。该团伙的另外两名成员逃离。

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”.

身为基督徒的退役陆军准将、巴基斯坦议会上议院议员约翰•肯尼斯•威廉姆斯(John Kenneth Williams)表示，此次袭击“肯定会在圣诞周从周一开始之际让基督徒群体感到不安”。

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].”

他补充称：“改善安全状况的努力是一个持续的过程，但在(建立可靠的安全保障方面的进展)似乎仍差强人意。”

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.

周日的袭击事件还引发了有关整个俾路支省安全的更广泛问题，这里是中国在巴基斯坦高达600亿美元投资计划的中心。

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.

中国计划铺设一个雄心勃勃的铁路和道路网络，连接中国西部与巴基斯坦南方由中国出资的瓜达尔港。中国还计划在“中巴经济走廊”(CPEC)项目的框架下投资发电项目，帮助巴基斯坦结束长期的电力短缺，并为新工厂设立特区。

“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”.

“除非俾路支省能够保障安全，否则中国的投资计划可能严重受损”，巴基斯坦某知名企业集团的负责人表示，“‘中巴经济走廊’沿线的安全保障似乎不够可靠”。