PAKISTAN: Shi'ites stage a demonstration to protest against sectarianism after a series of attacks by Sunni militant groups

Record ID: 872862

  • Title: PAKISTAN: Shi'ites stage a demonstration to protest against sectarianism after a series of attacks by Sunni militant groups
  • Date: 15th December 2012
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF WOMEN AND GIRLS CHANTING
  • Embargoed: 30th December 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Pakistan
  • City:
  • Country: Pakistan
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAABDMRLZ8LG12BV28UI8ZZ5JZ7
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  • Story Text: Hundreds of Pakistani Shi'ites took part in a demonstration in Karachi on Saturday (December 15) to protest against sectarian attacks on their community.
    The government is struggling to stop a wave of attacks by sectarian Sunni militant groups determined to wipe out the minority sect and seize power.
    More than 300 Shi'ites have been killed in Pakistan so far this year in sectarian conflict, according to human rights groups. The campaign is gathering pace in rural as well as urban areas such as Karachi, Pakistan's biggest city.
    Protesters started gathering in one of Karachi's main squares late on Friday to take part in the demonstration called by several Shi'ite groups.
    They called on the government to take firm action to deal with the problem.
    "Terrorism should come to an end. The terrorists should be unearthed and they should be arrested. And they should be punished so that peace prevails in the city," said Shi'ite cleric Syed Nazir Abbas Naqvi.
    Sunni hardliners threatened to strike hard during the recent Shi'ite festival of Ashura, prompting authorities to halt cellphone coverage in several areas to prevent bombings triggered by remote control.
    However, several were killed in bomb attacks during the festival's processions and some Shi'ites said they had received text message death threats.
    Pakistani intelligence officials say extremist groups led by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi have intensified their bombings and shootings of Shi'ites in the hope of triggering conflict that would pave the way for a Sunni theocracy in Pakistan.
    Shi'ites account for up to 20 percent of Pakistan's 180 million population.
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