KARACHI, 16 July 2006 — Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal leader Allama Hassan Turabi was laid to rest here in the premises of Mustafa Mosque at Abbas Town yesterday as violence flared in this southern Pakistani city as angry mobs went on a rampage after the funeral.

Gangs attacked and torched the Gulshan-e-Iqbal outlet of Pizza Hut and two petrol stations in protest at the death of Hassan Turabi. Protesters also attacked car showrooms and smashed up dozens of cars outside. Fires could be seen all around and the air was filled with thick, black smoke.

Police fired tear-gas to break up the crowds but there were no immediate reports of injuries.

Thousands of people had earlier attended funeral prayers for Turabi and his nephew Ali, aged about 10, whose killing also sparked rioting late on Friday.

The pair were killed when the attacker hugged Turabi outside his home before detonating explosives hidden under a long black gown. The bomber’s head was found nearby. Three bodyguards were also wounded in the blast, one of them seriously.

More than 5,000 people, including both Shiites and Sunnis, gathered for the funeral prayers amid tight security with thousands of police patrolling the violence-prone port city.

Shiite activists carrying black flags chanted “God is Great” and “Death to America.”

The funeral prayers of Allama Hassan Turabi and his nephew Ali were observed at Mehfil-e-Shah-e-Khurasan. Allama Sajid Naqvi led the prayers.

Allama Sajid Naqvi addressing the mourners paid rich tribute to Allama Hassan Turabi for his services to the nation. Murtaza Turabi, son of Allama Hassan Turabi, also addressed the gathering and called the participants to remain peaceful.

Thousands of people have died in more than a decade of sectarian violence in Pakistan, although Sunnis and Shiites generally live peacefully together.

After the funeral prayers, religious leaders urged mourners not to resort to violence as they marched toward the burial site some eight kilometers (five miles) away.

Major markets, fast food outlets, and cinemas were all closed. Traffic was thin and most petrol stations were shut.

City police chief Niaz Siddiqui said more than 5,000 police were on the streets as well as paramilitary rangers, many outside mosques and other sensitive places.

Chief police investigator Manzoor Mughal also told AFP that banned extremist group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, linked to the 2002 murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl, was the main suspect. “Lashkar-e-Jhangvi is the prime suspect in this case as some earlier intelligence reports had also indicated that the outfit was planning attacks in Karachi,” he said. The group has previously been linked to Al-Qaeda as well as two failed attempts in 2003 on the life of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf.

Angry protesters late Friday set ablaze at least six vehicles, damaged dozens of traffic signals and attacked police vans.

Investigators were hopeful of being able to identify the bomber, whose face remained intact after the blast. Officials from the government’s National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) had taken photographs of the bomber’s face, Mughal said.

“It’s a first incident of its kind in which a suicide bomber picked a single leader as his target, which also showed the cleric’s importance,” he said.

Turabi had been provided with police bodyguards as he had been a target for over a year, he said. The powerful MMA alliance called for a strike to protest against the murder of Turabi, who was the group’s vice-president for southern Sindh province.

—With input from agencies