On the eve of Muharram: 17 die in escalating Karachi violence

Seven Sunni men killed in ‘tit-for-tat attacks’.

QUETTA/ PESHAWAR/ LAHORE/ KARACHI:

A day after Karachi witnessed five target killings of Shias, seven Sunni men were shot dead in the city allegedly in tit-for-tat shootings on Tuesday.

Rangers and the police declared the recent spate an attempt to trigger sectarian violence and believed that a militant wing of a political party is behind this conspiracy.

Ten others, including two political workers, were also killed in separate acts of violence.

The six Sunni men were affiliated with the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat and were gunned down in four incidents of targeted killings. A Sunni scholar, Mufti Tariq, and his companion, Yar Mohammad, were among the dead.

In another incident, Ziaur Rehman, a student of Binori Town seminary, was also killed and another student was injured in separate targeted attacks.

All the incidents were committed by armed men on motorcycles who used 9mm and .30 bore pistols.

Although tall claims have been made by the Rangers and the police about extra security measures during Muharramul Haram, sectarian targeted attacks took 11 lives in two days, just before the month began.

The army will be deployed in Karachi on Muharram 9 and 10 on Sindh government’s request and they will be deployed in other parts of Sindh if need be, announced the Rangers spokesperson. The army will be deployed as the third-line force, while the Rangers and the police will deal with preliminary matters, he explained. “The aim of this could be to instigate people of both the sects into sectarian clashes during Muharram.”

Section 144 imposed

Fearing violence and unrest, the governments of Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan imposed Section 144 across their provinces on Tuesday.

The Punjab government made the decision to impose the Section for one month starting from the first of Muharram today (Wednesday). Accordingly, the government has banned the brandishing of firearms, distribution of hate material, wall chalking and propaganda speeches.

Section 144 has also been imposed in various districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ahead of Muharram. In Peshawar district, precautions began on November 1 and the section will remain in force till the end of the month. Meanwhile, arrangements for Muharram were finalised in Kurram Agency and the political administration announced the closure of the Pak-Afghan border for a week from Muharram 6 to 13.

In Gilgit-Baltistan, SSP Ali Zia told reporters clerics from outside have been barred from entering the area till the end of the Islamic month.

Meanwhile, the Balochistan government renewed Section 144 across the province to maintain public order during the first ten days of Muharram. “There are threats of possible terror attacks in Quetta and other parts of the province during the month that is why stringent security measures have been adopted to maintain peace,” Jan Mohammed Buledi, the Balochistan government spokesperson told The Express Tribune.

In Karachi, Section 144 is already imposed in the city as the display of weapons is prohibited. But the Sindh home department has sent a proposal to the Sindh chief minister to impose a ban on pillion riding on Muharram 9 and 10.


Published in The Express Tribune, November 6^th, 2013.