Putting Karachi on fire
Sajjad Ahmad
By Sajjad Shaukat
Protests and demonstrations by the Shia community enveloped almost all the country in reaction to the deadly twin blasts which killed more than 50 people, and damaged various buildings on March 3, this year in the Shia-dominated Abbas Town of Karachi. Next day, Sohrab Goth area of Karachi turned into battlefield with heavy exchange of fire after the four mourners of the burial procession were killed, while several people including four personnel of the Rangers were injured, and at least 10 vehicles were set on fire in wake of complete shutter down strike in the city, plunging it into total chaos. In this regard, on the appeal of Muhttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), shutdown strikes and protests were again held in Karachi and some other cities of the Sindh province on March 6.
There has been no claim of responsibility. But suspicion falls on banned Sunni extremist organisation Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) which has claimed major attacks on Shias in Quetta, particularly of February 17, which killed more than 100 persons of the Hazara Shias on the Kirani Road.
In this respect, Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik, while stating in the National Assembly on March 5 that four activists of the LeJ, involved in Karachis Abbas Town bomb blasts have been arrested, assured the Assembly that he would present a fact sheet that apart from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TPP) some other outfits like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi are also involved in recent terrorist activities, while LeJ is openly holding its meetings in Punjab. Earlier, he disclosed that Punjabi Taliban of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi which had its headquarters in Punjab were behind the terror attacks in Karachis Abbas Town and Quettas Alamdar Road and Kirani Road. He elaborated that the Punjab governments ruling party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was in an electoral alliance with the banned organisation. Therefore it has taken no action against the militant group. Former Governor, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Barrister Masood Kausar expressed similar thoughts on March 5. Notably, in the 2010, Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer (The Late) revealed that Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah has links with Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.
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