Pakistan protests over sectarian violence end peacefully

Updated on : 22-11-2013 09:25 PM

Amid tight security, protests were held across Pakistan on Friday over the killing of 11 people in sectarian clashes in the garrison city of Rawalpindi last week.

The Wafaqul Madaris al-Arabia, an umbrella body of madrassas, called the country-wide "protest day" over the killings and violence in Rawalpindi.  The violence erupted when a Muharram procession organised by Shias was passing by a Sunni seminary in the garrison city near Islamabad.  Both Shias and Sunnis were killed and over 50 were injured. Ahead of the protest, thousands of army, paramilitary and police personnel were mobilised across the country.  Schools were closed in most cities. Though the protests were largely peaceful except for some reports of tensions, they were marked by anti-Shia slogans and banners.  The minority Shias are often the target of religious extremists. The Islamic month of Muharram has often been marred by attacks on Shias.  The Difa-e-Pakistan Council, a grouping of extremist organisations formed by Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed, extended support to the "peaceful protest". The Karachi chapter of Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), a front for the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba, organised rallies to protest an attack on a mosque in Rawalpindi. Educational institutions in Rawalpindi and the link road to Islamabad were closed.  In Rawalpindi, ASWJ chief Maulana Ahmad Ludhianvi said, "We know how to fight against the enemies of Islam, and we are fighting against them. "He appealed to people to remain patient and peaceful and to thwart "foreign conspiracies". Ludhianvi is a former leader of the Sipah-e-Sahaba that has been blamed for killing numerous Shias. In Islamabad, protestors marched in a rally from the radical Lal Mosque to the National Press Club.  The federal capital's "Red Zone", which houses parliament, Supreme Court, key government buildings and the diplomatic enclave, was shut down.  The Jamaat-e-Islami and ASWJ held protest rallies in Peshawar.  Rallies were also organised in Gilgit, Astore, Diamer, Abbottabad, Dera ismail Khan, Karachi, Hyderabad, and Nawabshah. In Balochistan, rallies were held in Quetta, Chaman and Zhob.