PTI chief joins Sheikh Rasheed in blaming the administration for the mob riots. PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE
"Didn't they [the authorities] know how things can get in these processions?" Khan said.
The PTI chief said better administrative planning could have averted riots.
Though he did not comment on whether Friday's riots were planned, he mentioned that globally, Shia-Sunni conflicts have been deliberately fanned across the Middle East, and were now poisoning Pakistan.
Sheikh Rasheed calls clashes a 'total failure of administration'
Earlier, Awami Muslim League (AML) President and MNA Sheikh Rasheed demanded that Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif help those people whose shops were destroyed due to sectarian clashes which erupted at a Muharram 10 procession.
A curfew was imposed in parts of Rawalpindi after yesterday’s clashes left at least eight people dead and over 80 injured. A group of miscreants had snatched weapons from police officials and had opened fire.
Unknown persons had also set a portion of the cloth market in Raja Bazar on fire. Ten buildings are known to have been destroyed.
Rasheed said, while speaking to the media in Rawalpindi, that if this was any city other than Rawalpindi, a lot more action would have been taken already.
“I would like to tell the country, Shahbaz Sharif and the government that this is a total failure of the administration.”
“We are sandwiched between the armed forces and diplomats,” the MNA added.
He appealed to the public and the ulema asking them to respect all sects of Islam, adding that one should “maintain his own beliefs while respecting others’ beliefs as well.”
He said that the affected shop owners supply goods not only in Rawalpindi, but to all parts of Pakistan and help should be given to them in this situation.
COMMENTS (75)
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I agree with you sir, but you are also the part of administration. What have you done for the public? They elected you as Member of National Assembly but you people are famous for playing a game to create vote bank. My sympathies are with all victims but sir you should raise the voice on the floor of Parliament that why the Mullah was allowed to deliver a provocative speech and what was in the speech, if there were really any objectionable material in his speech, he should be brought into justice and must be given an Exemplary Punishment to him and also to find that who were sponsoring him. Then i will accept you a true Leader otherwise you are just increasing the graph of your popularity. A voice of a Helpless Pakistani.
Failed to understand the double standards of people blaming LEJ, wahabis etc here. It has been proven that firing started from within the procession and resulted in casualties in the madrassa. Not a single shia casualty has been reported. This btw includes the slaughtering of the seminary students as well. Still dont understand why the Pakistani media is trying hard to portray shias as the victims.60 hr coverage for Hazara victims.Not even 6 minutes for the funeral of the ashura victims. If this biased attitude of our govt and media continues I am afraid we r moving towards a civil war like that in Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq.
@qbc:
Proof for what? Dozens of people who got killed you need proof? People who are trying to pay the "Namaz-e-Janaza" you need proof for that? Please stop bringing Islam in everything thats what you have made this country after bringing religion in everything. For Gods sake start thinking rationally
Imran Khan you are the MNA from Rawalpindi and what have you done to help the administration or your voters except throwing words and allegations at others. Your priorities are with the Taliban so what are you doing here? What has the representative of Rawalpindi asked for his people?
@gp65: Well...its not like the authorities didn't know the procession was going ro take place and there is potential for trouble. I mean it happeneds on the same day every year! So its not like a terror attack. If there was trouble like this in KP we would be absolutely right to blame the provisional govt.
@ABCD: Im sorry to disappoint you but the Imam is presently under arrest and I dont think a dead man can be arrested.
Imran Khan..why no tharna by PTI to arrest the real culprits who were involve
@ABKhan: So you have no proof you are just lying good luck on the of judgement because in islam you need proof.
So the trap worked for creating violence in Pakistan and it started from my City. I hope that people of Rawalpindi will use their sense and will not fall into the trap to create unrest in the city. No-one will benefit from this only innocents will be killed. Immediate ban on hate speech including this comment page of ET (only those comments which promote hate speech).
For Administration to have free and fair trial, must bring the following points clear and bring culprits to Justice: 1. Procession time was after Juma Prayer (why they reached before at 1:30 PM), who was behind this unscheduled movement of procession. 2. Why Masjid Loudspeaker was used for Hate speech. 3. People having guns are clearly traceable from camera footages, they shoud be captured and must face justice. 4. Those people who burn shops with chemicals must be brought to justice.
@ABKhan: Ahh because you have no proof thats why you refuse to give evidence so you are just spreading hate and lies which is against islam.
I voted for Imran khan in Rawalpindi. Where was he when all this happened? What did he do to ensure security of his constituency and his constituents? Aren't Imran khan and sheikh Rashid supposed to look after the rights and safety of their voters?? If all they can do is give post tradegy interviews, then they should resign and let us vote for someone who would actually be interested in doing something constructive for the security and betterment of Rawalpindi!
Long Live Imran Khan.
so sad
This is a complete failure of the provincial government Shahbaz sharif
@salman: Shahbaz Sharif has taken notice...Vow isn't that something!! It is Sheikh Rasheed's riding and he is suppose to look after the well being of his people!!
@Caresless Whispers: I agree, we should have been showering praises to the administration for doing a marvelous job!!
"Rawalpindi clashes: 'Loss of lives extremely sad, but could have been prevented', says Imran
So from now on whenever there is an act of terror in KP, one assumes that is a preventable act and fault of provincial government that it happened - right? Is that also true about the jail break and attack on Christians?
Saudi Arabia and Iran showing their power in the streets of Rawalpindi, Pakistan. My earnest desire is that IK and Sheikh Rashid would desist from supporting funded elements of, at least one of these countries
This is sad that people kill each other in the name of religion. This pandora box of hatred and intolerance was opened when ahmadis were declared non muslims against their will and belief. Sorry to say to shias they too joined extremist sunnis of the time in this act of injustice. Now shias are facing the same fate as ahmadis. The only solution of pakistan miseries is to seperate religion from politics as advised and envisioned by Quaid Jinnah.
@ABCD: well, its Majority thats blamed most of the time. Godhra Incedent, hindu women and Kids were burned alive in train coaches , first. You won't ever find it in any Indian Media. Its was all about Muslim massacre.
Truth is pmnl as proven to be a disaster when security services especially police are not employed on merit and instead employed for votes this is the outcome btw Maryland nawaz stated pmnl employ ppl who have multiple ids on social media like Ch Daad e.t.c shame on u ppl, u are a disgrace working for pmnl plc
These are the same Sartaj Azizes out to steal Rishi Kashyappas Kashmir, cant handle own country, out to steal India's land. Frankly, you people are base, the lowest of the low.
@Ch. Allah Daad Even if we believe that you are right the you should have digged a matter further like an educated person that the constituency this incident happened is NA55 not NA46 which is Imran's. And moreover, just do some research on who has got the authority to assign routes to procession whether it is an MNA or city and provisional govt.
@qbc:
Sipah Sahaba(Armed wing of PML-N) is as worse as the terrorists who cut the throats of innocent children in the mosque. I dont need to bring anything from some other sources
IK, will you just shut up for few days!
There is not much difference between Sheikh Rashid and Imran Khan, except that Imran has more followers. Imran has lived, studied and played in West but did not learn anything. In West, whenever a big event or festival is held, the member parliament of that constituency looks after all arrangements and renders all kinds of help to local administration. If Imran was in any civilized nation, everyone would have pointed their guns towards Imran. If we elect these ignorant people, we must learn to listen their stupid remarks and comments.
When you have a PM who has let alone, not attended Parliament but is spending much of his time abroad...........what type of governance does one expect. The brilliant Cyril Almeida of DAWN correctly asked ' What would make the PPP government look good ? ' and he also provided the answer : A PML- N government.
salamun alaikum to all,
This is in regards to the ongoing unrest in pindi, multan and bhawalpur...I am sure you guys must have heard about this by now...
This incident was pre-planned by the takfiris/wahabis noT SUNNIS(they are our brothers)...the following link to a twitter update from this wahabi group invites its workers to gather at the masjid in order to stop the shia procession...therefore, it's these guys who had already conspired this incident and now they are asking the govt. of Pakistan to ban shia processions?
https://twitter.com/KKSKNEWS/status/401167454660866048
I need your help to spread this word...also, I propose to get a petition going against this outfit organisation and ask the federal interior minister of pakistan, Choudhry Nisar Ali to immediately arrest it's leaders and ban Ahle sunnat wal jamat....
second, we need to share this twitter update with pakistani media and talk show hosts....I will try to get emails for some of the talk shows and iA we can all collectively email them and ask them to shed light on the fact that it was pre-planned.
I need some volunteers to....
a) write the petition letter b) provide emails of pakistani talk shows so that we can share this issue with and respectfully lodge our protest c) share the petition letter once its ready d) share this link on facebook and help stop this blame game
please let me know what you guys are willing to help with....mention a), b) or c)...let's spread awareness among the masses and unmask the real culprits
@Akhtar: and here I was, thinking that Muslims at least have freedom of worship in Pakistan. Or are you now proposing that freedom of worship be restricted to whatever sect you follow, clearly not Shia Muslim. Instead of punishing the victim find a way of deterring miscreants.
@expaki: Not only Wahabism but all fanatical belief leads to violence and self poisoning.
First massacre should not be portrayed as clash. Second, following must be investigated: 1. Why was the procession deviated from permitted route. 2. Although these processions are claimed peaceful and every participant is frisked, participants are seen carrying firearms in footage and had enough fuel that they torched the mosque and madressa in 15 minutes and killed unarmed people. Thirdly, processions on the streets must be banned and should be ordered to contain inside enclosed compounds.
@amjad: "Wahabi is probably less than 1% of Pakistan" Deadly poison even less than 1% is more than enough kill thousands.
Shekh Rashid should compare the conditions of his city with those in inCairo, Damascus, Baghdad and Tripoloi tbefore he complains. the grass is not always greener
Rex Minor
This is exactly what the perpetrators want. They want Pakistanis to fight like dogs now. The country was slowly beginning to unite against the monsters of TTP and the Wahhabi/ salafi ideology , with fatwas coming in from the peaceful Sunni scholars. Public needs to sit down and think who is getting all the benefits of this riot. Who got the benefit of Karachi markets' burning in 2010? It's the similar situation here. And the people are so goddamn ignorant, it just needs a tiny effort and they pick up arms. We have a brainwashed mob of a nation now actually. RIP Pakistan. RIP tolerance.
@AAK: Hahahhaha. ROFL, dude. You single-handedly decimated all the political parties in Pakistan, scorched the military. You sir, have my like. Do contact me too!
@Kram,
there was no "exchange" of gunfire. There was one sided firing from the Wahabi mosque into the crowd.
@Karachi you're too funny. Who are more in Pakistan, Shia or Wahabi? Wahabi is probably less than 1% of Pakistan. Majority of people are Sunni Barelvi.
@ABCD:
bro trust me i can bring alot more eye witnesses than you in the tens of thousands.What you are doing is lying to protect sipah e shahba terrorists plus you are promoting terrorism.
ET might not print this because it is on the side of the majorty who lie.
The creation of Pakistan was based on the freedom of worship for minority religions, mainly Islam. It is sad that it is in Pakistan that Sunnis and Shias continue to preach ridicule for each other's sect, every year Sunnis come out on Ashura to jeer. Imam's encourage sectarian hatred. At least within our spheres of influence even if they only extend to our own homes, we should discourage hate speech and name calling against other Muslim sects. Asking Pakistani Muslims to refrain from hate speech against Hindus, Jews and Ahmadis is an exercise in futility. Many base the depth of their piety on hatred for "others"
Iran and Saudia must be very happy bcz we the most stupid people r fighting their war
Conspiracy theories are always there. I recall when Muharram procession was bombed in Karachi few years back, and suddenly miscreants appeared, and burned down the small shop market in that area. While law enforcement watched from a distant.
At that time it was conspired that the land mafia did it on purpose to get the small shop owners vacated (as they were not) and build more expensive shops there.
Bhai, It's evident that Sheikh Rasheed has not been able to dominate this news thread. AAK is on fiREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
This guy is not a role model. Every word he speaks is full of hate and violence. The administration did a great job but when we have leaders who incite hate and violence and violent crowds ready to kill each other, no one can stop them. Only option we have is to ban these processions, impose curfew for 9th and 10th Muharam and keep people inside their homes.
nothing to do with administration...administration was great thats why death count is only limited to unfortunate 8.... its due to the ideology which u and ur allies PTI and JI support that is the talibanization and extremeism..... such a selfish shameless oppurtunist.... trying to score a point on dead bodies...
@Caresless Whispers: HOW COME YOU ARE DEFENDING A TOTAL fAILED GOVT ,IN ALL FRONT,KARACHI OPERATION,DRONE,TALEBAN,ECONOMY,IT'S WORST THAN ZARDARI AND TALEBAN KHAN IN KPK.
@saeed: right !
It means nawaz government fails to protect lahorians against badmash (terrorist) threads.
This is unfair of sheikh rashid. It was reported yesterday that shahbaz sharif has taken notice. Please give him a chance to gather facts about the situation so he can formulate a better securiry plan for next year. Go sher junior!
Wahabism must be constitutionally declared non Muslim. It is the single most threat to the existence of pakistan, our way of life and islam as well.
What ET has totally failed to report is that the toll is much higher than 7 lives. Also it failed to report that people entered into sunni mosque and killed children by putting guns into their mouths and firing. Also the head of the Imam was cut. I always take sides of minorities but its not the way to kill the majority during your religious ceremonies ........... ET publish the comment as you cant publish the true story
please remove sanaullah
For some reason anyone who sits in opposition feel obligated n duty to keep blame game theory continue. Sheikh Sahib know very well that a. Such incidents are not new, our Mullah's n mis-guided members/public elements choose to settle their useless goals in such situations. Sharif's don't have a Gene to keep tab of all such unfortunate incidents. Remember Sheikh Sahib even in your times n to put simply from 1947 onward each Muharrum story remained same - it would have been better if question is addressed to Mullah's of Sunni's n Shia's Jamaat's than Sharif's. Please grow up Sheikh Sahib, thanks
True. As long as government allows terrorists and miscreants to create fitna from Masjid Zarrar operating under the banner of LeJ, we won't be able to control fisaad fil arz. Sunni Tehreek has given a clear fatwa against these khawarjis. It is time to take the fatwa and make it a law. This will solve most of the problems of terrorism.
Hundred percent true...what was the government doing.....when it comes to criticize others they jump in and waste no time..where is rana sana ullah who does nothing other then giving absurd and funny interviews on political opponents...PML N is failing on all fronts..there is not a single step of this government which has done any thing to Pakistanis..
And here comes those who wont leave any opportunity to be used as Political millage