Pakistani Shia Muslims carry the coffins of relatives during a mass burial ceremony in Quetta on February 20, 2013. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
BAHAWALPUR: The Shia Council’s Divisional President Sheikh Manzoor Hussain and his younger son Haider Ali were killed as a result of firing in Rahim Yar Khan on Friday.
Hussain was leaving his house in Umar Block, Abbasia Town, Rahim Yar Khan with his son for participating in a rally led by Haidri Trust on ‘Youm-e-Quds’ when six riders on two motorcycles started firing on them just as they were about to enter their car.
Hussain and his son were seriously injured as a result and were brought to Sheikh Zayed Hospital, where both eventually succumbed to their injuries.
The bodies of Hussain and his son Ali was brought to Langar Hussaini where a large number of people had gathered protesting against the incident and the attitude of the police.
Members of the Shia Council led a protest rally against the killings, closing down the Emergency Ward of the hospital, along with several business centers in the city and damaging private property in retaliation. Stalls at the Ramazan Bazaar near Melaad Chowk were also burnt.
Shops, banks, petrol pumps and other business centers were closed due to the law and order situation in the city.
DPO Sohail Zafar Chatta arrived at the hospital with his police squad to restore peace in the area.
The police has also established the check posts throughout the city to increase security measures.
Hussain and his son’s dead bodies have now been shifted to his house, sources revealed.
Chatta said that they had called the rangers to counter the situation in the city. He added that entry and exit points of the city had been totally closed due to the incident.
He said that no arrests had been made yet, but the police was investigating the matter closely so that murderers of the Shia leader and his son could be arrested.
COMMENTS (45)
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Whats our fault ? is this we are the lovers of Ahle Bait ? Why my uncle and Brother were killed brutality ?
D.I.G khan, jail break, any body resign, why still enjoy government
im 50 50 both shia and sunni.therefore,respect both sects with equality.i strongly condemn this.whoever does this can never be a muslim.shia and sunni people in our families love eachother and inter marry.i dont know about others.
@Aq: "Only one solution is to make pakistan secular."
Who will bell the cat in a country where Mumtaz Qadri is a hero?
This is one sad day. M friend lost his father and younger brother. May their souls rest in peace. Ameen.
When a self confessed killer of hundred of Shias,Malik Ishaq, is acquitted of all murder charges & is tried for Hate Speech only then its a signal form the State to Salafists/takfiris to give a thorough blood bath to the country.Its not going to stop without total melt down of present State Institutions.
Only one solution is to make pakistan secular.
@kaalchakra: When people in buses are IDed and only Shias are killed. During the jailbreak in D I Khan some of the prisoners were killed but only the Shias were beheaded.
When naras of Kafir, kafir, Shia kafir are not uncommon nor wall chalkings against Shia, when surveys show that over 50% of Pakistanis think Shias are not Muslim, then why not assume that what happened with Ahmadis is likely to happen to Shias? First call them non-Muslims and then use hat as a way to oppress them.
You can pretend that there is no sectarianism but do the Shias agree? Since you claim o have Shia friends, why not ask them if hey agree with you.
@Sri Varahadev: What makes you think it was unsanctioned?
@kaalchakra: Obviously there is not a sectarian conflict going between Shia-Sunni or other sects. There is increasing Geogocied of Shia's only, by TTP, SSP and LeJ. How this could be stopped when these militant organizations have found their patrons in PML-N the ruling party in centre and province. PML-N is unwilling to condemn these brutal acts let alone any concerte step to eliminate this major threat to nation.
A case of the Deep States “Strategic Assets” going off the reservation to indulge in a spot of unsanctioned blood letting?
There are people on face book who openly propagate hatred against some sects. There are so many organisations who are involved in active hatred and physical killings that no one names or the fear of these sects is so big that no one dates to name. Personally I suspect that foreign powers like India, Israel and United States are involved in getting this sectarian issue moved to such levels that the very existence of Pakistan gets threatened. Pakistan has to reflect very coldly if we can survive with present attitude towards the world. We have to think if we can afford the baby boom. We have to think if we can afford so many warring sects. Sects thrive on generating funds. Funds can only be generated if you create hatred and threat from opposite sect. Unfortunely the Muslim countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia have also not shown maturity in curbing sectarianism. Unless funding to militant sectarian groups is stopped, there can be no reduction in militancy and killings.
@kaalchakra
If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck then it is a duck. To put it bluntly there are, to use your terms, "Shia-Sunni issues" besides there being a "Shia-Sunni problem" in Pakistan besides Iraq, Bahrain, Syria and elsewhere making it "disgusting" to not give incidents such as this a sectarian based "religious colour". "Disgusting" because not naming the violence for what it is, is nothing but an attempt to sweep Intra-Muslim religion inspired sectarian bigotry under the carpet and provide the support structure for shifting the blame onto other uninvolved religions and/or countries eg: Hindu / Jews / Christians / India / Israel / US of A.
@Ali: These things happen once in a while, dont worry my shia brothers,we sunnis are with you until the end
These once in while is pretty much a daily routine.
Both sects are followers of religion of peace.
TTP and SSP are very successful in creating hate for Islam and Pakistan. I personally know how much my opinion about Pakistan has changed. By looking at the vast majority of extremist Muslims, it's very hard to defend Islam any more. Alas, the silent majority of Pakistan, I always counted on, has turned either numb or extremist. The silence of our society on Shia genocide is criminal. Jumma-tul-Wida Mubarak - what a perfect day to kill innocent people!
It's really disgusting that such incidents are given the label of Shia-Sunni issues. There is absolutely NO shia-sunni problem here. People live together in peace. Shias have Sunni friends and vice versa. Please stop giving things a religious color when there is no justification for such divisive bigotry in Pakistan. Pakistan belongs to all. All Muslims are brothers and sisters - so no Shia, no Sunni fight can be tolerated.
It is baffling that Pakistan, a country claimed to have been founded to provide a safe haven for the Muslims of the Indian Sub-Continent, sees such high levels of violence pitting Muslim against Muslim over minor differences in religious doctrine. Baffling also to see these violent events take place during the religiously significant month of Ramadan which is considered holy by a substantial majority of the citizens of Pakistan. Why not just live and let live?
These things happen once in a while, dont worry my shia brothers,we sunnis are with you until the end
@Ananymous: Why leave? Why not the same solution to be repeated that was tried O successfully in 1947? Separate country for Shias?
May Allah bless them......killing some one because he differs with is the worst crime. I was in RYK as Magistrate....he was local leader of Shias. It is just deplorable.It is cruelty.
@Ali: BY Shia means Shia... what else? When people of only one sect are being killed, it has to be named. Don't blame the media here, blame yourself for tacitly supporting these acts of terrorism by creating confusions
My heart bleeds to see this happen. May Allah give the bereaved strength and justice be done to the aggressors for their crimes. May the victims be at peace.
The blind hatred between Shias and Sunnis has in the meantime a tradition in Pakistan. Every year in Muharram we use to witness violent wrangles between both the sects in front of our house in the walled city of Lahore.
VIOLENCE IS DISGUSTING, INHUMAN, PRIMITIVE............................................!
Who is to be blamed? First and foremost the idiot Mullahs and Zakirs who till today with greatest pleasure preach inhuman violence and incite the feelings of their followers.
All hate inciting clips in YouTube should be removed at once!!!
Central and southern punjab is the breeding ground of sectarian terrorists, with all the blessings of PMLN. The "good governance" chief minister could not contain the chotta gang. I doubt he has the willingness or the capacity to tackle the monsters like LeJ.
who crying now in pakistan for shia's death? no one? shia is not muslim?
Pakistanis, and particularly the minority Shia Muslim community, are suffering from a crisis of Wahhabi/Salafi/Deoband/Sunni extremist militancy for so long, but no one in Pak (be it politicians, army officials, judges, society, etc) seems to be willing to acknowledge it and can only at best try to disingenuously claim its because of 'drones'.
Rightly or wrongly, this is the face of Islam which world has come to believe. Muslims can not be at peace either with others or among themselves. Last time when did you hear Hindus or Buddhists or Christians killing each other or fighting among themselves?
how many pakistanis feeling sad for shia muslim death?
Unending sectarian killing targeting non-sunni muslims. Neither the army nor the police nor the govt nor the people are stopping this. Who is the closet taliban here?
Everybody know Pashtun Sunni Militants are killing people in Pakistan .......Shia should leave this Country...
Ramadan Kareem ?
It seems like this is the only thing a certain sect likes to do. I am sorry if it hurts someones feelings but hurt feelings are better than hurt families of victims of certain other sect.
every single person killed in a state,the responsibility goes to the government...
@INDIAN SHIA: "What happen to pakistan" Holy Brotherly Country.
ET ( What do u mean by Shia ) U All Media Is using sectarian violence and hates in ppls
The time is come my shia brothers to act. Its very clear pakistan has become a battle ground for saudis to teach iran a lesson for building nuclear arms. Shias in Pakistan are bearing the brunt for no reason. We have to fight this menace by uniting and asking help from foreign countries like Iran or India or western nations who whave interestsin Pakistani shias welfare.
Unless Pakistan follows mechanism adopted by Bangladesh, these inhuman activities are to come.
Bangladesh court decree death penalty to jamat islami guys/ leadership...hue and cry continue for days and over....
pakistan needs to be serious....
Many more to come.
DI.Khan-jail-breakKeep trying to appease LeJ at the cost of Shia Lives PML-N. No one will look into this matter seriously as the blood of followers of ABU TURAB(A.S) seems white to all those who are responsible to provide them security, I don't expect any Su mo tou would ever be taken to save the lives of innocent pakistani people(including Shia's) at the hand of terrorists.
Who is to be blamed? Those who strongly claim their right to rule but fail to protect the lives of innocent people, or those who are the guilty of practising their religion freely? There were many news reports or stories of links between Rana Qanoon wala and LeJ, why he hasn't been investigated seriously? Royal House of R.wind won't make its allies questionable.
What happen to pakistan :(
Unbelievable display of hate and violence in the sectarian stye called Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Ina Lillahay wa inalahay rajay oon