KARACHI, 14 April 2006 — Troops were deployed in Karachi yesterday as trouble broke out before funerals for Sunni Muslim leaders who were among 57 people killed in a suicide blast two days ago.
Life came to a standstill here for the second day following the Nishtar Park tragedy and public transport was also closed in the metropolis
Angry youths wielding sticks torched at least four buses and one car, police said. They burned tires in the street and forced shops in the city to close. Most petrol stations and markets were shut and the government has closed educational institutions for three days.
“The army has been deployed at sensitive places in the city to assist the civil administration in case of any eventuality,” a military spokesman said. “It is a preventative deployment.” Ten top leaders of the Sunni Tehrik religious party, including its chief Abbas Qadri, were among those killed in the blast on Tuesday at Karachi’s Nishtar Park. No one claimed responsibility for the attack, but there were fears it could start a fresh cycle of sectarian violence between militants from Pakistan’s majority Sunni and minority Shiite communities.
Police and paramilitary soldiers have been deployed in strength in the area around Qadri’s home. Regular troops paraded along major roads before taking up positions at intersections. Sunni groups said the protest over the bombing would continue until Sunday. A six-party religious alliance known as Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal decided to observe today as a “black day” of protest.
The moderate Sunni Tehrik religious party said it had received threats before Tuesday’s attack. It has given the government a 48-hour ultimatum to catch the culprits. “Karachi is mourning the death of so many religious leaders and scholars,” said Shahid Ghori, head of a three-member supervisory committee which will run the party’s affairs after the bombing wiped out its top leadership.
“We have presented our demands to the government, it is up to them to arrest the culprits,” Ghori told reporters.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, who flew to Karachi and met religious leaders, said investigators were looking into all aspects. “I assure you we will unearth the culprits,” he said.
Police detained a man belonging to the Shiite sect who was injured in the blast. Mohammad Hussain Balti “is being questioned for his presence in a Sunni congregation,” a senior police officer said. Police investigators have also released the photograph of the face of a suspected suicide bomber.
Tension gripped Sohrab Goth Chowrangi at Shahrah-e-Pakistan after yesterday’s violence and arson incidents. According to official sources, troops have been deployed at sensitive areas in the city and they started patrolling in Saddar, New Karachi, Shah Faisal, Jamshed and Baldia Town. Police and Rangers would be responsible for law and order in these areas but troops would take control within minutes in case of an emergency.
Minister of Interior Aftab Ahmed Sherpao and Minister of Religious Affairs Ijazul Haq and other top government officials visited the central office of Sunni Tehrik and expressed their sympathies with caretaker leaders of the party.
Sindh Home Minister Rauf Siddiqui, meanwhile, increased the reward money from 5 million rupees to 10 million rupees for information leading to the arrest of the culprits involved in the Nishtar Park blast.
