28 Feb 2012 06:42
Source: reuters // Reuters
(Adds details, background)
By Jibran Ahmad
PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Gunmen opened fire on a passenger bus in the northern Pakistani district of Kohistan in an apparent sectarian attack on Tuesday, killing 18 people, police officials said.
"All the people on board were Shi'ites, and at the moment it looks like they were targeted by armed men from the local Sunni community," a senior police official told Reuters.
The bus was traveling from central Pakistan city of Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad, to the northern town of Gilgit.
Police officials said the bus came under attack in an area inhabited by two Sunni tribes about 165 km (102 miles) north of Islamabad.
The majority of Pakistanis are Sunni Muslims, with Shi'ites accounting for around 15 percent of a population of around 180 million.
Both communities largely live in peace with each other but militants from the two sides have killed thousands of people in tit-for-tat attacks since the beginning of Islamist militancy in the country in the 1980s.
Shi'ite Muslims are a minority sect of Islam, arising from a dispute over the successor to the Prophet Mohammad 1,400 years ago. Many extreme Sunni Muslims consider them apostates. (Additional reporting by Saud Mehsud in DERA ISMAIL KHAN; Writing by Rebecca Conway; Editing by Chris Allbritton and Sanjeev Miglani)
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Sectarian violence: Jundallah claims responsibility for Kohistan bus attack
By Web Desk / Our Correspondent / Agencies
Published: February 28, 2012
18 victims, most of them Shia pilgrims, were returning home when attack took place. PHOTO: AFP/ FILE
PESHAWAR / DI KHAN: Outlawed terrorist group Jundallah has claimed responsibility for an attack a bus on Karakoram Highway in the Kohistan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, which killed 18 people on Tuesday.
Jundallah’s commander Ahmed Marwat, who contacted media persons soon after the attack, claimed responsibility for the assault.
The attack took place when gunmen opened fire on the bus which was en route to Gilgit from Rawalpindi with 39 passengers on board. The bus was owned by Mashaburum private bus service.
Seven armed men stopped two buses and a coaster. The armed men were reported to be in Army uniform. They asked the passengers to get off the bus and shot them after checking their CNICs.
Most of the victims were pilgrims who were going back to their native areas after visiting holy shrines in Iran.
A source in the district administration in Dassu told The Express Tribune that residents of Tangir’s Darkai valley, Commander Abdul Qayyum, Saddar Shariat and Burhan Shariat, sons of Gul Shahzada: Abdul Karim and Abdul Qadeem, sons of Abdul Ghafoor are suspected to be involved in the massacre.
Driver Muhammad Younus of Nagar valley, Najibullah, Suhail Ahmed are among the deceased.
“All the people on board were Shia, and at the moment it looks like they were targeted by armed men from the local Sunni community,” a senior police official had earlier told Reuters.
“Armed men hiding on both sides of the road attacked the bus,” local police chief Mohammad Ilyas said.
“Initial reports said 18 people have died and eight wounded,” he added.
Police officials said the bus came under attack in an area inhabited by two Sunni tribes about 165 km (102 miles) north of Islamabad.
The ambush happened near the town of Harban Nullah. DCO Chilas confirmed the incident.
The bodies of the deceased have been kept at Shatial hospital.
Local MP Abdul Sattar Khan linked the ambush to the murder of two Sunni Muslims a few days ago in Gilgit.
“The people of the area had vowed they would take revenge,” Khan told AFP by telephone.
Rehman Malik constitutes three-member investigation team
Interior Minister Rehman Malik constituted a three-member investigation team which will be supervised by the Deputy Inspector General of Hazara Division.
The team will comprise members from Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Intelligence Bureau (IB) and police officials.
The team will produce an investigation report within three days.
President Zardari takes notice of the attack
President Asif Ali Zardari, while taking notice of the attack said that the injured admitted in the hospital should be facilitated with the best treatment.
President Zardari also sought an investigative report of the attack.
Schools in Gilgit to remain closed for three days: CM G-B
While speaking to Express News, Chief Minister Gilgit-Baltistan Syed Mehdi Shah said that he was in contact with the chief minister of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and that investigations were underway.
“We [G-B government] have alerted the army, Frontier Corps and police so that no other incident could take place,” said Shah.
He said that section 144 has been imposed in Gilgit, while schools will remain closed for three days.
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Pakistani Shias hold demos
Sat, 03 Mar 2012 03:32:17 GMT
Thousands of Pakistani Shia Muslims have staged demonstrations across the country to condemn Tuesday’s massacre in a northern town that left 18 people dead, Press TV reports.
Demonstrations were held after Friday prayers in Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, and many other cities and towns across the country.
The gatherings were organized by the Imamia Student Organization (ISO), the All Pakistan Shia Action Committee (APSAC), and Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen Pakistan (MWMP), a Press TV correspondent reported.
The demonstrators shouted slogans against the government and censured the United States, Israel, and Saudi Arabia.
They also denounced the Saudi policy of funding extremist groups in Pakistan who commit acts of violence against other Muslims.
The Shia Muslims were killed when a bus carrying passengers from Rawalpindi to the northern town of Gilgit came under attack in the mountainous region of Kohistan.
The bus was carrying 39 people, mostly Shia pilgrims, returning to their hometowns after visiting holy shrines in various Iranian cities.
The outlawed terrorist group Jundallah claimed responsibility for the attack.
Talking to Press TV, protest leader Abbas Kumaili strongly condemned the incident and said he held the government responsible for failing to maintain law and order. Other speakers criticized the US-Israeli-Saudi troika for fomenting chaos in the country.
Following Tuesday’s incident, Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik announced the formation of a special team comprised of high-ranking police and intelligence officials to investigate the incident.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned the violence and extended his condolences to families of the victims of the “abhorrent attack.”
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Former Malir Bar president, son killed in shooting
By Web Desk
Published: March 24, 2012
Salahuddin Haider and his son were driving to work when unidentified gunmen opened fire on them. PHOTO: INP/ FILE
KARACHI: Salahuddin Haider, former president of the Malir Bar association, and his son were killed by four unidentified gunmen who opened fire on them in the Memon Goth area on Saturday, Express News reported.
Chief Minister Sindh Qaim Ali Shah called for an immediate arrest of the perpetrators, while chief justice of Sindh High Court also took notice of the incident.
Haider and his son were driving to work when four gunmen on two motorcycles opened fire on their vehicle, injuring both of them. The victims died on the way to the hospital.
The motive of this attack is still unknown, although there has been speculation that it was an act of terrorism.
Afaq Ahmed’s security squad attacked, 2 policemen injured
Unidentified men fired at Mohajir Qaumi Movement (MQM-Haqiqi) chairman Afaq Ahmed’s vehicle, injuring two security policemen in the Landhi 6 area on Saturday.
According to reports, the security squad was exiting a petrol pump after refueling when suddenly unidentified men opened fire on the car, injuring two policemen. According to DSP Mirza Majeed, it has not yet been confirmed whether the unidentified men were robbers or terrorists.
The injured policemen have been taken to Jinnah Hospital whereas the unknown gunmen fled the scene.
Operations to take place against target killings, extortion: Manzoor Wassan
Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Wassan, speaking to the media in Karachi, said that the Sindh government has decided to carry out operations against target killings and extortion in the city.
“Police will work further to end sectarian killings… like the target killing of former Malir Bar association president today,” he said.
He added that the police will be assisted by the Rangers in eliminating the practice of extortion in the city.
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