Shias in Pakistan receive death threat text messages

'Kill, Kill, Shias,' say the text warnings to members of Shia community.

ISLAMABAD: Shias, targeted in three explosions which killed 16 people on Wednesday, are now receiving death threat text messages on cellphones ahead of a key event in their religious calendar that has been tainted by violence in the past.

“Kill, Kill, Shias,” say the text warnings to members of the minority sect.

Hardline Sunni groups linked to al Qaeda have in recent months stepped up attacks against Shias, whom they regard as non-Muslims.

Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s violence and said it would stage more attacks on Shias over the next few days.

More than 300 Shias have been killed in Pakistan so far this year in sectarian conflict, according to human rights groups.

“Genocide against Shias is already taking place in Pakistan so the text messages don’t really matter that much,” said Jalal Haider, who received a text threat.

Hardline Sunnis are expected to strike again this weekend, the climax of the Shia mourning month of Muharram. Sunni groups have staged high-profile suicide bombings against processions on that occasion before.

Muharram marks the anniversary of the Battle of Karbala where the grandson of the Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) and his family members were killed.

About 50,000 people are expected to march through the streets of Islamabad on Saturday and thousands of security personnel are expected to be deployed in a bid to avoid attacks.

Any large-scale sectarian violence could hurt Pakistan’s efforts to show it has improved security as it hosts the leaders of eight developing countries at a summit in Islamabad.

Pakistani intelligence officials say extremist groups, led by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, or LeJ, have escalated their bombings and shootings of Shias to trigger violence that would pave the way for a Sunni theocracy in US-allied Pakistan.

Pakistan is nowhere near that stage but officials worry that LeJ and other groups have succeeded in dramatically ratcheting up tensions and provoking revenge attacks in their bid to destabilise the nuclear-armed country.