Ashura processions: Potential tragedy averted

Security officials prevent attacks on Ashura processions in Lahore and Shikarpur.

SHIKARPUR: Security officials in Lahore on Friday apprehended a suspect from Karbala Gam-e-Shah as Ashura processions were underway.

Police transferred the suspect to an unknown location for further investigation.

The arrested suspect was identified as Shahid and belonging to Abbotabad.

Earlier, in Shikarpur, security guards shot dead an attacker as he tried to enter an Ashura procession.

The attacker managed to explode the grenade before he died, injuring four people, including a police official, in a village near Khanpur .

The grenade attack targeted an Ashura procession underway. Earlier today, a mortar attack killed six people in Hangu as Shia Muslims marked Ashura.

Tight security arrangements have been made across the country for Ashura processions during the month of Muharram.

Tens of thousands of paramilitary guards and police were deployed across the country to guard Shiite rallies on Ashura, the climax of Muharram.