A Muslim group wants to build bridges with communities after a suicide bombing at a Sufi shrine in Pakistan left 30 dead.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Association Bradford branch is holding a community cohesion event with the Cathedral Choir School, Ripon, tomorrow.

Chefs will prepare Asian cuisine and civic leaders from Bradford and Ripon will attend, along with representatives from the Army.

Dr Mohammed Iqbal, president of the association’s Bradford branch, said the event was important after Thursday’s Sufi shrine attack, which he compared to May’s massacre at two Ahmadi mosques, which killed 70 people including his own cousin.

He said: “Unless we stand up to this form of intolerance there is nothing we can do. In our city, in our country, we have to be bold enough to make a stand – a wrong is a wrong and it should be condemned, as in our case in Lahore with the recent attacks, it is abhorrent and it should be condemned.

“The Government of Pakistan needs to take stronger action.”

He said he will talk about some of the more “thorny issues” faced by Muslims in Bradford.

The relationship between the Ripon school and the Ahmadiyya group began when pupils visited its mosque, in Rees Way, off Otley Road.

Dr Iqbal said: “They were deeply impressed with what they saw, and we were very impressed and moved by their interest and understanding.

“We believed it would be good for two different cities to come together.

“I’m really looking forward to it. People have a certain perception of Bradford, some good aspects and some not so good.”