Blood and mourning: Sectarian violence in Muharram 2012

A compilation of news stories shows over 70 people were killed in sectarian violence during Muharram in 2012.


Mariam Essa/Talha Ahmed November 13, 2013
A boy stands amongst worshippers as they offer noon prayers during a religious procession on the ninth day of holy month of Moharram in Karachi on November 24, 2012. PHOTO: AFP/FILE

The onset of Muharram means heightened intensity of religious fervor, especially for Shia muslims, who observe the anniversary of the historic Battle of Karbala by participating in large mourning processions on Muharram 9 and 10 or 'Ashura'.

But in Pakistan, unfortunately, Muharram has been accompanied with a trend of turning from symbolic to real mourning with an upsurge of sectarian violence all over the country.

This year, as the government and security officials seeks to tighten security in the country, Rangers have already foiled a suspected Muharram 10 bomb attack in Karachi.

So far, there have only been a few sporadic incidents of violence. However, Muharram had been preceded by a bloody few days of target killing which saw as many as 20 people being targeted in Karachi.

Here, we showcase a timeline of sectarian violence during the Muharram in 2012, pointing towards what authorities must try to prevent:

 

































































































































News of attack



Excerpt



November 2012


Under Threat: Taliban may attack Muharram processions in G-B Interior Ministry wrote a letter to G-B govt warning of TTP attacks during Muharram

15


Violence: Two killed, two injured in Balochistan Firing targeted two Hazaras in a sectarian attack

16


Targeted attacks: Explosion at CD shop A CD shop in Shabqadar Bazaar was completely destroyed in a bomb explosion

18


Arrested 'TTP militant' warns of Muharram attacks TTP's Akhtar Mehsud warned of four suicide bomb attacks at Muharram processions in Karachi

18


Former JI chief escapes suicide attack in Mohmand A suicide bomber blew up near Qazi Hussain Ahmad's convoy in Haleemzai tehsil

19


Karachi violence: Bomb attack kills 3 near Imambargah A powerful bomb targeted an Imambargah in Abbas Town, Karachi

19


Shias in Pakistan receive death threat text messages “Kill, Kill, Shias,” said the texts, ahead of Ashura

22


Muharram security breach: Blasts rip through Pindi, Karachi Three terror attacks on two Imambargahs in Karachi and Rawalpindi killed 12 immediately

22


Pakistan Taliban claim attacks on Shias in Karachi and Pindi TTP claimed responsibility for the above attack, the combined death toll for which rose to 25

22


Grenade attack on Peshawar checkpost kills one, injures two A hand grenade was hurled at a security post set up near the Pahari Purah Imambargah

22


Lakki Marwat: Abortive suicide attack near Imambargah A suicide bomber blew himself up after police challenged him near an Imambargah in a southern district of K-P

23


Quetta plot foiled: FC recovers explosives primed for attack Frontier Corps (FC) recovered around 250kg of explosives from a car near the Pak-Afghan border in Killa Abdullah district, Balochistan

23


Muharram security: Major terror plots foiled on Ashura 100 kg explosives seized and 35 terrors suspects were arrested in Punjab

25


Muharram 10: Processions finish, blast leaves 5 dead A bomb blast in Dera Ismail Khan killed at least five people and injured over a hundred during a procession

25


Muharram security breach: Blast targets mourners in DI Khan; 10 killed A roadside bomb targeted a procession

25


10 more killed in targeted attacks 10 men killed across different neighbourhoods in Karachi

29




December 2012


Targeted attack: JUI-F leader's killing triggers tension in G-B Ubaidur Rehman, a local JUI-F leader, was shot by gunmen outside his home in Gilgit City

1


Terror attacks fail: Suicide bomber, aide killed in untimely explosion A suicide bomber and his helper were killed when their suicide vest went off accidentally in Jaba Sohail

3


Over 100 Ahmedi graves desecrated in Lahore Over 100 tombstones were desecrated by unidentified men at an Ahmadi graveyard in the Model Town area of Lahore

3


Two Rangers, traffic policeman killed in Al Asif check post attack Unidentified armed men attacked an Al Asif check post near Super Highway

10


2 killed, 8 injured in Karachi blast A cracker blast in Landhi killed two people

12


Sectarian violence: Two killed, seven injured in university clashes Two student groups clashed in Gilgit

13


Balochistan violence: Three killed in sectarian attacks A Hindu doctor, a Panjgur airport manager and a Shia citizen Shabbir Ahmed were shot dead in separate incidents

14



70 plus - Estimated number of civilians and security officials killed

30 plus - Estimated number of attacks

Close to 150 - Estimated number of people injured

A slideshow of this year's ongoing Muharram processions can be viewed here.

Correction: In an earlier version of this article, it was stated that the Shias "celebrate" the anniversary of Karbala. The error is regretted and the inappropriate word has been replaced. 

COMMENTS (7)

Sh | 10 years ago | Reply

Shias dont celebrate the anniversay we mourn the tragedy. U should correct it!

bigsaf | 10 years ago | Reply

@mojo:

Probably for those in the prejudiced majority who still like to live in denial about religious sectarian extremism amongst themselves in Pak society and hypocritically claim "its only a few extremists..." even after numerous bombing and gun massacring incidents and many thousands of deaths of Pakistanis, particularly minorities.

@Raj - USA:

I wish I were that positive hoping for peace. Unfortunately, there's been another attack.

http://tribune.com.pk/story/631613/muharram-insecurity-3-injured-in-grenade-attack-in-karachi/

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