Chehlum peaceful, except for Karachi

QUETTA/ PESHAWAR/ ISLAMABAD/ KARACHI: The processions to mark the Chehlum of Imam Hussain (RA) concluded more or less peacefully on Tuesday as security forces managed to preempt any major terror incident across the country except for Karachi, where a string of blasts claimed four lives.

Mobile phone services also remained suspended in many parts of the country, including Karachi and Lahore.

The blasts in Karachi – four in number – took place minutes before the procession for Chehlum was supposed to start. The first blast took place near Capri Cinema at MA Jinnah Road but no casualties were reported.

The next three blasts took place in Orangi Town area of Karachi, near an Imambargah. While the first blast was of low intensity, the second one proved fatal, killing four people and injuring more than two dozen, including a sub-inspector, four volunteers, two scouts and passers-by and bystanders.



“The second blast targeted the law enforcers as the suspects knew they would have gathered at the site because of the first one,” said an official.

About half an hour after the second blast, another bomb went off in the same area, injuring at least three children who were playing in the ground near their residences. According to the Bomb Disposal Squad experts, except for the last blast which was a cracker attack, the remaining three explosions were of improvised explosive devices.  Karachi police chief Shahid Hayat said security was taken up a notch after the blasts, and the mourners were asked to carry on with the procession after the route was rechecked.

Situation in Rawalpindi

In Rawalpindi, Chehlum procession passed amid unprecedented security with a minor incident in which 15 activists of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat – who were trying to proceed towards procession area – sustained injuries in a clash with police.

The city administration had taken stringent measures and blockaded entry to Raja Bazaar, which had witnessed a violent clash between two rival sects during Ashura.

Chehlum in Punjab

In the rest of Punjab including Lahore, the morning processions went along their traditional routes peacefully. To ensure security, the phone service remained suspended in the provincial capital till late at night.

In Multan, security remained on high alert and over 9,000 police personnel and 14,000 volunteers took part in ensuring law and order.

Security in K-P

In Peshawar, the Chehlum was held amid tight security with more than 2,000 policemen, volunteers and paramilitary forces personnel on patrol. The authorities had asked the business community to keep their shops shut and barricaded as a precautionary measure.

In Hangu, security was tightened in the entire district with extra contingents of police and paramilitary troops deployed at check posts and sensitive locations.  In Parachinar, Pak-Afghan border was closed and heavy contingents of security forces were deployed at sensitive areas.

Situation in Quetta

Both the Chehlum processions in Quetta went along their routes without incident as thousand of security personnel stood guard. Tight security arrangements had been made in and outside Imambargahs and along the routes of the processions, which were protected by about 4,500 personnel of Frontier Corps and police.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, December 25^th, 2013.