Policemen (R) and Ranger soldiers (L) stand outside a prison following a Taliban attack in Dera Ismail Khan July 30, 2013. PHOTO: REUTERS
Shias in the city held a gathering in Kutle Imam on Saturday to protest against the DI Khan jailbreak on July 29. The Central Prison DI Khan was stormed by members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) who freed 248 militants and killed three Shia inmates.
The Imamia Student Organisation and Jafaria Students Organisation, including women and children, participated in the gathering. They held banners condemning the failure of the government and cruelties committed against Shias.
Addressing the protestors, Shia Ulema Council provincial president Allama Ramazan Tauqeer blamed security and law enforcement agencies for their failure in preventing the jailbreak and protecting the now deceased Shia inmates.
“The day is not far when these terrorists will be eliminated. We are not safe inside jails, where else will we be safe and protected,” said Maulana Azhar Nadeem.
“The assault on the jail continued for three hours, but there was no one to stop it,” claimed Nadeem, questioning why militants were kept at the Central Prison.
It is also suspected TTP militants took three to five Shia prisoners with them.
The three inmates killed during the July 29 attack were identified as Akhtar Abbas, Juma Malang and Zulqarnain and were on death row. Funeral prayers for Abbas and Malang were held in Haji Mura and in Gura Baluch, Tank for Zulqarnain.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 4th, 2013.
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I want to show solidarity with the Shias killed in this attack on the Dera Ismail Khan prison. If any protests are being organized and if I can do anything, anything to help my Shia brother in his time of need then I will do it. Shias and overall all Pakistanis have severely suffered because of the Taliban.
We need to give a message to the Taliban, that we are against them and will stand against them for eternity because they are nothing but barbarians. We should prepare a policy to defeat the Taliban until their utter vanquishment
so the genocide continues
Of all the ills Pakistan is facing ,the major one is the silence of the majority.Any atrocity on one's neighbors and co-citizens calls for a united voice against the perpetrators . The silence is letting the terrorists eat Pakistan piecemeal. Just sitting quiet on the hope that what is happening to others won't happen to us is a sure way to suicide.