Quetta mourns its dead

Quetta on high alert as mass burials for the victims of a suicide attack take place.

QUETTA: The provincial capital was on high alert on Saturday as mass burials took place for the victims of a suicide attack, the death toll for which has increased to 65.

However, officials said that 54 people died in the attack on the Al Quds rally. Collective funeral prayers were offered for 50 people at the Hazara graveyard and metal detectors were placed at both entry points of the graveyard for increased security.

Meanwhile, the Balochistan Shia Conference has claimed that 57 people were laid to rest in the Hazara graveyard, six dead bodies sent to Dera Allahyar, four to Afghanistan and two to Chalgari.

Relatives of the slain people claim that most people died of bullet wounds and only 12 to 15 were killed in the suicide attack.

A case has been registered at the City Police Station under the Anti-Terrorism Act. Police arrested 12 suspects for interrogation during raids in different parts of the city. “Different police teams had been formed to carry out raids in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan,” a senior police officer said.

A complete shutter down strike was observed in condemnation of the incident and the commercial centre of the city wore a deserted look, as all shopping and trading remained suspended for the day. Educational institutions were shut following an announcement from the local administration. However, public transport operated as usual.

Police and Frontier Corps personnel were deployed in various parts of the city and patrolled sensitive areas.

Addressing a news conference, representative of the Balochistan Shia community, Haji Abdul Qayyum Changhazi said that only 15 people had died in the suicide attack, while the rest were killed in firing. “Frontier Corps, police and other armed men opened indiscriminate fire on the procession, which continued for an hour and a half,” he alleged. It is not clear who these “armed men” were. Changhazi added that they had been given permission by the authorities to hold the demonstration at Mezan Chowk. “The suicide bomber was following the procession and he blew himself up when got the opportunity,” he said, adding that many people in the procession were carrying arms.  The provincial chief minister has ordered a judicial inquiry into the suicide attack and constituted a ministerial committee under the supervision of provincial home minister, Mir Zafarullah Zehri. The provincial government has also imposed a ban on rallies and processions.

The Shia community in Quetta has rejected the ministerial commission constituted by the chief minister to investigate the suicide attack and demanded that the Chief Justice of Pakistan take suo motu notice of the incident and constitute a full bench under his supervision, for a judicial inquiry.

“The home minister said that he knows the target killer and the terrorists of the city, then why is action not taken against them? In such circumstances the ministerial commission is merely a waste of time,” Changhazi said.

The bomber was among a 450-strong crowd marching on Friday and blew himself up as the procession reached the main square. Chaotic scenes followed, with an angry mob starting fires and shooting into the air while others fled or lay on the ground to avoid the gunfire.

Al-Quds day is an international event staged each year by the Shia community to oppose Israel’s control of Jerusalem and show solidarity with Palestinian Muslims.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 5^th, 2010.