Protests continue as city shuts in mourning

Protestors blocked roads with burning tyres and threw rocks at police as anger over three blasts in the city.

LAHORE: Protestors blocked roads with burning tyres and threw rocks at police as anger over three blasts targeting Shia Muslims continued to spill onto the streets on Thursday.

The protestors gathered at major intersections in Islampura, Krishan Nagar, Nisar Haveli, Dalgaran Chowk and in the vicinity of Karbala Gamay Shah, the imambargah that was the site of the first of the three blasts that killed 37 people on Wednesday night

They held sticks and shouted slogans blaming security lapses by the police for the blasts. They also blocked roads leading to Karbala Gamay Shah and set police barricades on fire. Police did not confront the protestors and no major incidents were reported.

Lahore revenue commissioner Khusru Pervaiz announced that the paramilitary Rangers force would stay in the city till the end of the Eidul Fitr holidays.

Traders kept almost all the city’s markets shut on Thursday, while banks and other institutions close to Karbala Gamay Shah were also closed. The police forced several shops that were open to close. The Tehrik-i-Jafriya Alliance, a confederation of Shia groups that organised the protests, declared three days of mourning across the country, starting on Thursday.

Zainab Ali, a protestor at Bhatti Chowk, said that the government should resign if it cannot protect the public. “I hate the Taliban. They have unleashed hell everywhere,” she said. “If I got the chance, I would kill each and every one involved in the attacks.”

Hussain Ali, a protestor who lost his cousin Qasim in Wednesday’s attacks, said he could still not believe he was gone. “Qasim never missed any religious occasion and had devoted his life to Karbala Gamay Shah,” he said.

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif phoned Naqvi to express his condolences and pledge that the offenders would be caught and punished. Naqvi assured him of the support of the Tehrik-i-Jafriya.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 3^rd, 2010.