Shia ulema want inquiry into recent killings

At least 21 people killed for political or sectarian reasons this January.

HYDERABAD: A commission similar to the one investigating the Memogate case should be set up to look into the killings of Ahle Tasheeh people, said the chief of the Shia Ulema Council of Pakistan, Allama Sajid Ali Naqvi, on Saturday at a press conference.

He denied that the killings were sectarian, arguing instead that some people were trying to create trouble between the sects. However, if a commission were formed, they would provide evidence which could help with the investigation.

The latest attack took place was on January 24, when three lawyers were gunned down in Karachi. Before that, on January 18, there was a bomb blast attacked a procession in Rahim Yar Khan, which left 18 people dead.

On another note, Naqvi was not hopeful about the revival of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal. He said he wanted to be a part of a broader alliance which included religious and political parties.

While talking about the government, he said that it should be allowed to complete its term just so that it did not complain later.

He said that the Difa-e-Pakistan Council had agnostic elements in it and his party would keep away from it. The Difa-e-Pakistan Council is an offshoot of the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 30^th, 2012.