Little heed: Shia leaders unhappy with security measures

Rawalpindi residents concerned about security of imambargas, mosques.

RAWALPINDI: Shia representatives have expressed dissatisfaction over the security arrangements being made for their protection and places of worship by the Rawalpindi police, and have stressed the need for improved measures.

After the blast on Friday night, the community is quite concerned about the security of their religious places.

While talking to The Express Tribune on Sunday, Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Fiqa-e-Jafria (TNFJ) spokesperson Qamar Haidar Zaidi said the tragedy could have been avoided if the government considered their security an important issue.



“Merely deputing one or two police constables at [an] imambargah will not address our concerns. The government will have to take some concrete measures by forming a comprehensive strategy to put an end to this brutality,” Zaidi said.

He added that there were a total of 35 main mosques and imambargas in the city.

“The lack of seriousness of the local administration can be gauged by the fact that only a single police constable has been deputed to guard the Markazi Imambargah Qadeemi Rawalpindi, while there is not a single constable at Masjid-e-Shaheed Najaf Imambargah, which has been set on fire on two separate occasions,” the spokesperson said.

Zaidi informed that they had formed a private security force to provide security to the processions and community members.

Acting CPO Haroon Joya said there was no lapse in security. “We lost one of our police constables in the incident, so how can you claim that there wasn’t any proper security,” he asked.

Shia Ulema Council Pakistan District President Ghulam Qasim Jafri said “when we visit police stations to ask for security we are told they are short of staff and cannot depute constables.”

Residents deny sectarian tension

Residents of Chitti Hattian, where the attack occurred, say people belonging to the two sects had been living peacefully in the area for decades.

Nadeem Ahmad, a Sunni resident, told The Express Tribune that Ibn-e-Rizvi [custodian of the Imambarga that was attacked on Friday] and his family had been living here for many years.

“He is a very kind-hearted person. We have been living in a very amicable environment for a long time and this attack is tantamount to attacking all the houses in the area,” he said.

“My wife and two kids were present in the ceremony. We are disturbed over the incident,” Ahmad added.

During Muharram, all the locals had taken responsibility for protection of the imambarga along with the police, he said.

TNFJ head Agha Syed Mousavi said there was “some third force involved” in the incident that wished to ruin the peace of the city. He said that the police should identify the elements involved and give them exemplary punishment.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 12^th, 2015.