KARACHI: Authorities appealed for calm Tuesday after a bombing against a Shiite procession killed 43 in Pakistan’s largest city of Karachi, setting off riots and igniting fears of sectarian unrest.
Security was tight as thousands of people gathered in central Karachi for funerals of some of those killed in Monday’s bombing of a Shiite procession marking the key holy day of Ashoura.
The attack sparked riots as people rampaged through the city, setting fire to markets and stores. Firefighters were still battling the flames Tuesday, with authorities calling for reinforcements from the city of Hyderabad.
Several thousand mourners attended funerals for victims. Coffins were carried through the crowds in Karachi during a procession at the climax of Ashura.
“I am 100 percent sure that the United States and its agents are behind this attack, and all other such attacks in the country,” said Syed Kausar Hussain Zaidi, a Shiite lawyer.
Other mourners were furious, shouting confusing slogans. “Down with America. Down with the Taleban. Down with Israel.”
Residents in apartments near the blast site tossed down body parts that had been cast into their homes from the explosion, while birds dove down to pick at the flesh amid damaged vehicles and motorbikes.
Karachi Mayor Mustafa Kamal said the city’s largest wholesale market was on fire, and that hundreds of shops had been destroyed, with damages estimated to run into millions of dollars.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik, who visited Karachi on Tuesday, said authorities were still trying to determine whether the attack had been carried out by a suicide bomber, as he had said Monday.
“The investigation is still going on to determine whether it was a suicide attack or some improvised explosive device was used,” said Malik, who appealed for calm and said he had ordered an investigation into who was behind the rioting. “If anyone is trying to cripple Karachi, then he is also trying to cripple Pakistan,” the minister said. It was unclear who was behind Monday’s bombing. Pakistani authorities say sectarian groups have teamed up with Taleban and Al-Qaeda militants waging war against the government in a joint effort to destabilize Pakistan.
“A deliberate attempt seems to be afoot by the extremists to turn the fight against militants into a sectarian clash and make the people fight against one another,” said President Asif Ali Zardari in a statement Monday.
“I fell down when the bomb went off with a big bang,” said Naseem Raza, a 26-year-old who was marching in the procession. “I saw walls stained with blood and splashed with human flesh.”
