Security tight in Pakistani cities after twin blasts
Karachi/Lahore: Security was tightened in Pakistan’s biggest city of Karachi and investigators sifted through the damage for clues in the eastern city of Lahore on Wednesday, a day after two blasts killed at least 13 people in two cities. On Tuesday, a teenage suicide bomber blew himself up near a procession of Shi’ite Muslims in Lahore, killing at least 13 people and wounding more than 70, officials said.
Lahore police chief told media a 13-year-old boy detonated explosives as policemen tried to check him at a cordon near the procession. A couple of hours later, a blast also occurred in Karachi after a Shi’ite procession passed through a lower-class neighborhood, wounding several people, police said. Initial reports suggest a motorbike had struck a police vehicle, wounding two policemen. One of them died on the way to the hospital, police said.
“Everyday there is a blast. It is also hurting business. People are living in fear. The government should take proper action and improve intelligence, especially for religious type of gatherings,” said Karachi resident, Mohammed Rauf, who runs a computer shop in the city.
In Lahore, shocked residents looked at the damage as daylight revealed the destruction. “The government seems to be unable to control this terrorism. These people are defaming Islam and they are killing the humanity,” said one resident in Lahore.
Shi’ites across the country joined in the processions on Tuesday to mark the climax of the major religious rite of Arbain. Arbain or ‘Chehlum’, is the 40th day of mourning, and is observed by Shi’ites across the world to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussain, grandson of the Prophet Mohammad, and his companions who were killed in a 7th century battle at Kerbala, in Iraq.
Islamist militants linked to al Qaeda and Taliban deem Shi’ites as heretics and have attacked such religious gatherings in the past as part of their bloody campaign to create chaos and topple the U.S.-backed Pakistani government. A group affiliated with the Pakistan Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, and warned of more similar attacks.-Reuters
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