Last rites: ASWJ leader, activists laid to rest

The group warns of further protests if their demands are not met in one week.

KARACHI:

The funeral prayers for the leader and two activists of the formerly banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, who were gunned down in separate targeted attacks on Friday, were offered on Saturday.

Maulana Dilfraz Mauvia, head of the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat’s (ASWJ) Baldia Town chapter, and his companion, Abu Bakar, were shot dead by two armed men on a motorcycle in Metroville in SITE area, while they were returning to their houses in Baldia Town.

The killings had sparked a spate of protests and demonstrations by ASWJ activists on Friday. Nearly 10 localities of the city, including SITE, Quaidabad, Korangi, Malir, Sohrab Goth and Nagan Chowrangi, were affected. The protests ended late on Friday, after the government and law enforcers assured the ASWJ of their cooperation.

On Saturday, Maulana Mauvia’s funeral prayers were offered at Haqqani Ground, in Baldia Town’s Abidabad area, and he was later buried at the Abidabad graveyard. Earlier, funeral prayers for Abu Bakar were offered outside the Jamia Masjid Omar in Baldia Town. His body was later sent to his hometown in Punjab for burial. Another ASWJ activist, Naveed, was buried at the Khamosh Colony graveyard after his funeral prayers were offered near his home in Gulbahar. Hundreds of people attended the funeral prayers, and later staged demonstrations. They also shouted slogans against the government, and demanded that authorities arrest the culprits.



Senior ASWJ leader Maulana Taj Hanfi appealed to the participants of the funeral procession to stay patient. “We ended our protests yesterday after the authorities assured us of their support, but we would stage sit-ins on the streets if the government does not fulfill its promise within one week,” he said.

A young protester, Shahid Khan, also warned that ASWJ activists would lose their patience if the authorities did not act.

SITE division SP Ali Asif said that initial investigations suggested that the incidents were part of the ongoing wave of sectarian violence. “However, we are trying to get sketches of the culprits made with the help of eyewitness accounts.” He confirmed that a case had been registered against the attacks.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 24^th, 2013.