Imambargah attack: ASWJ leader detained for questioning

Teenager killed in attack laid to rest

KARACHI: Twelve-year-old Faraz Shabbir Hussain, who died in an attack on an imambargah in District Central on Monday, was laid to rest amid tears and sobs on Tuesday. Meanwhile, law enforcers detained a chief of the Karachi chapter of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) reportedly for questioning over the recent attack.

Hussain was killed while nearly 20 others, most of them women and children, were injured when unidentified men lobbed a grenade near Imambargah Dar-e-Abbas. Hussain's funeral prayers were offered at the imambargah in Ancholi Society after Zuhrain prayers, after which he was laid to rest at the Wadi-e-Hussain graveyard. A large number of people also staged a protest against the incident and demanded the arrest of the culprits. Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) leader Raja Nasir Abbas Jafri blamed the banned religious organisations for the attack, adding that this is not a single incident to have occurred during Muharram as during the first 10 days of the month, two people belonging to the community, were killed in separate targeted attacks.

On the other hand, police and Rangers conducted an overnight targeted operation in Khamosh Colony area in Gulbahar and detained about half-a-dozen suspects, including the Karachi-based chief of ASWJ, Rab Nawaz Hanfi, and shifted them to an undisclosed location. When contacted, the ASWJ spokesperson confirmed and condemned the arrest of their leader.

"Hanfi sahib has been taken into custody by the police and Rangers," he said. "They assured that they would release him soon but they have yet to release him." Meanwhile, the police have yet to register a case.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 19^th, 2016.