30 killed in suicide attack on Shia procession

At least 30 people were killed and about 70 wounded as a suicide bomber blew himself in the middle of a religious procession in Karachi on Monday evening, reports Kamal Siddiqi.

At least 30 people were killed and about 70 wounded as a suicide bomber blew himself in the middle of a religious procession in Karachi on Monday evening.

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The procession, which was passing through Karachi’s main city centre area of MA Jinnah Road, comprised thousands of Shia Muslims marching to mark Ashura, a holy day amongst Shias all over the world.

Shortly after the bomb blast, hundreds of people took to looting and arson and destroyed over 600 shops on the busy thoroughfare despite the deployment of over 10,000 policemen and para-military personnel. “We did all we could do. You cannot blame the government for any security lapse,” said information minister Qamarzaman Kaira, when asked to give his comments on the incident.

This is the first such suicide attack in Karachi in the past several months. The last major incidence of violence in the city took place two years back when a suicide bomber attacked the convoy of Benazir Bhutto as she arrived in Pakistan from several years of self-imposed exile.

While religious leaders condemned the blast, police officials said that they were not quick to link this attack to the on-going violence in the tribal areas and the revenge attacks being carried out by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. “The city has its own dynamics and this may well be some other group,” Salahuddin Babar Khattak, provincial police chief told newsmen.

Following the attack, the city wore a deserted look with the Karachi-based MQM party calling for a day of mourning for those killed.