PAKISTAN: Tens of thousands mourners gather for funeral of top leaders of a moderate Sunni Muslim group killed in a suicide attack during a prayer meeting in Karachi

Record ID: 858710

  • Title: PAKISTAN: Tens of thousands mourners gather for funeral of top leaders of a moderate Sunni Muslim group killed in a suicide attack during a prayer meeting in Karachi
  • Date: 14th April 2006
  • Summary: RELATIVES AND FOLLOWERS CARRYING COFFIN FOR FUNERAL PRAYER
  • Embargoed: 29th April 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Pakistan
  • City:
  • Country: Pakistan
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVADVP22TPNZS53SHSFCKGCSGD66
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: Tens of thousands mourners gathered for funeral prayers for the top leaders of a moderate Sunni Muslim group, victims of the suicide attack in Pakistani city of Karachi, on Thursday (April 13).
    A suicide bomb blast at a Sunni Muslim prayer meeting killed at least 57 people in main city Karachi on Tuesday (April 11).
    Among the dead were several locally well-known leaders of Jamaat-e-Ahle Sunnat, which has hundreds of thousands of followers among Pakistan's dominant Barelvi sect of Sunni Muslims, raising fears of a violent backlash.
    Chanting Islamic slogans, a stream of followers surrounded the mosque in the main city. Outside, funeral prayers were offered and later the three central leaders of Sunni Tehreek including its chief Abbas Qadri, were buried. The fourth body of a low rank was buried elsewhere in the city. Sunni Tehreek is a major Barelvi Muslim group.
    Security was in high alert in the city and at the venue of funeral prayer, and all the roads leading to the venue of congregation were sealed for traffic.
    Earlier, the troops of Pakistan Army were called out in Karachi to avoid any freash violence.
    At least three filling stations and about a dozen vehicles were set on fire in overnight violence, and two banks and a motorcycle showroom were also damaged.
    Leaders of Sunni Tehrik have threatened to call for protests if the culprits were not arrested.
    Sunni groups have called for a countrywide general strike on Friday to protest against the bombing and demand the capture of the culprits.
    The city remained tense and deserted on Thursday, with army troops patrolling the streets and short of public transport. Almost all filling stations were closed, covered with thick clothes and protected by barriers to avoid any attack.
    Sunni groups staged peaceful demonstrations in several cities and towns of the country to protest the bombing. Businesses remained shut in many parts of Sindh province, of which Karachi is the capital. In some areas, angry youth burnt tyres and set afire vehicles.
    Nobody had claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attack and a Pakistani official said authorities were struggling to identify the group behind the blasts.
    Karachi has a history of violence between Sunni militant groups and members of the Shi'ite Muslim minority, but observers say there is little friction between Shi'ites and Barelvis.
    The Barelvis have been targeted before by militants from the more austere Deobandi Sunni sub-sect, which disapproves of Barelvi's liberal interpretation of Islam.
    The Sindh government announced a three-day mourning period, and closed down all educational institutions.
    The attackers struck while some 15,000 worshippers from a Sunni Muslim organisation, Jamaat-e-Ahle Sunnat, had gathered for prayers in a city park at the end of a day that marked the anniversary of Prophet Mohammad's birth.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register