Karachi, Shia targeted by extremists: over 50 dead and 150 wounded
Karachi (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Tension remains high in Karachi, Sindh province, southern Pakistan, where yesterday a devastating explosion in a predominantly Shiite area caused more than 50 deaths and at least 150 wounded. Hashim Raza Zaidi, a senior official from the local government, said that "the death toll could rise, because the conditions of at least half of the wounded is highly critical." In recent weeks, the Asian nation - due to hold general elections in the near future - has seen an escalation of sectarian, ethnic and confessional violence. The last serious incident dates back to mid-February, when the minority Hazara were attacked in Quetta causing almost two hundred dead.
The
explosion - a car bombing according to preliminary reports - invested two
five-story buildings located in the district of Abbas, in a predominantly
Shiite area of the metropolis of Karachi. Following
the blast a huge blaze broke out that has trapped many of the residents in the
apartments. The
blast shattered windows of buildings and caused the collapse of balconies and
terraces, with extensive damage to hundreds of houses and shops in the area. The
explosion was triggered as the faithful were leaving a local mosque. It
is possible that the Shiite worshipers were the target of the attack, in which,
however, many Sunni Muslims, the vast majority in the country, were also killed.
Prime
Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf was already in Karachi at the time of the attack,
he canceled all commitments on his agenda, to coordinate rescue operations. So
far there have been no claims of responsibility,
even if investigators are concentrating on Sunni extremist groups.
Karachi
is a city of over 13 million inhabitants - the most populous in Pakistan - and
it is an explosive mixture of criminal gangs, land lords, drug traffickers,
communal violence, political rivalries and Islamic fundamentalism. However,
the police report that murders of a confessional nature are only 20% of the
total. This despite claims by human
rights associations and activists, according to which the central government
and local authorities have done little or nothing to stem divisions and violence.
2012
was one of the most terrible years for Shiites, with a bloody toll that speaks
more than 400 deaths in several attacks, including 125 in the province of
Baluchistan where there is a strong Hazaras presence. With
more than 180 million people (of which 97% profess Islam), Pakistan is the
sixth most populous country in the world and is the second largest among the
Muslim countries after Indonesia. About
80% are Sunni Muslim, while the Shiites are 20% of the total. There
are also Hindus (1.85%), Christians (1.6%) and Sikhs (0.04%). Violence
against ethnic or religious minorities is commonplace all over the country,
from the province of Punjab to Karachi in southern Sindh province, where in the
first eight months of 2012 more than 2,200 people were killed.
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