Shots fired during Youm-i-Ali procession

At least five people were injured when shots were fired in the middle of a Youm-i-Ali procession.

KARACHI: At least five people were injured when shots were fired in the middle of a mourning procession to commemorate the martyrdom of Hazrat Ali (RA).

The incident took place near Empress Market and Jehangir Park. The participants of the procession claimed they were ambushed by terrorists but the police were quick to caution that an investigation was underway.

“We have detained 20 men in connection with the incident and will be in a position to say what happened only after interrogations,” TPO Saddar Javed Akber Riaz told The Express Tribune.

The medico-legal section of Civil hospital confirmed that four injured men, including a police constable, came for treatment. They were identified as Dilshad, 20, son of Shamshad, Muhammad Naseem, 40, son of Muhamd Hanif, Shabbir, 22, son of Shabban, Saeed Iqbal, 22, son of Waheed Iqbal. Three of them sustained gunshot injuries and one was hit by a rock.

It was not immediately clear what happened. According to one version of events, people fed up with the blocked-off Dr Daudpota Road street protested, creating a fight in which the shots were fired. The procession passes Empress Market on Preedy Street. For the entire route, streets and alleys that branch off from the main route are always blocked off by the authorities. They use tankers and trucks and buses to do the job. And when the procession is underway most commuters take Sharae Faisal as an alternative.

According to witness Muhammad Riaz, there was no ambush: “People were angry and they protested, leading to a fight between the protestors who had been waiting for a long time in their vehicles outside the blockades put by the security in different areas of Saddar.”

The Jafferia Alliance of Pakistan claimed, however, that the procession was attacked by terrorists. “Some people fired from the top of the building that is adjacent to Jehangir Park and is located in the Naswarwali Gali,” said spokesman Ali Ahmer. “And some of them were positioned in Aqsa mosque on the other side of the road.”

Those who were injured did not know where the bullets came from. “I was standing on duty and don’t know how the fire occurred and how I got injured,” said Saeed Iqbal, 22, son of Waheed Iqbal, who was taken to Civil hospital because he was shot in the foot.

“Everyone was running and we did not know why, actually I was standing at a little distance from where the shots were fired,” he said.

Another victim was Dilshad. “I heard gunshots but don’t know what else happened,” he said. “I don’t even know how I reached hospital.”

A heavy contingent of Rangers and police rushed to the spot as soon as the incident was reported and the procession moved on. The incident was reported at around 5:30 pm.

The central procession culminated at Imambargah Husainian Iranian in Kharadar amid tight security. It had emerged from Nishtar Park where smaller processions from other parts of the city coalesced earlier on. Allama Furqan Haider Abidi addressed the Nishtar Park gathering.

JAP condemns ‘terrorist attacks’

Jafferia Alliance Pakistan chief Allama Abbas Komeli has announced a three-day period of mourning for what he described as terrorist attacks on the Youm-e-Ali processions in Lahore and Karachi. In an emergency press conference at his residence on Wednesday, Komeli condemned the bomb blasts and firing incidents during the Shia processions and appealed to the government to arrest the perpetrators. Certain ministers are supporting banned outfits, he said, adding that the government should carry out operations against these organisations.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 2^nd, 2010.