Pakistani insurgency targets Shiites

Space War ^ | 01/05/2010 | UPI via Space War

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

The militant insurgency that has taken an enormous human toll in many regions of Pakistan in recent months assumed a sectarian dimension last week as it turned its fury on the country's minority Shiite Muslims. In so doing, the militants added Karachi, the country's largest city, a major port and the financial center, and Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir province, to its list of targeted cities for spreading mayhem.

Prior to that, Karachi and Muzaffarabad had been spared the worst of the violence of the past four months in which hundreds have died, with civilians from all walks of life taking the brunt.

The Karachi and Muzaffarabad attacks were purely sectarian in that they were aimed at the Shiites, who account for about 20 percent of the 174 million population in Sunni-majority Pakistan.

What was especially tragic in the two incidents was that the killers chose to attack their victims during the holy month of Muharram when Shiites take out religious processions to mourn the death of their 7th century Imam Hussein, who died in the Iraqi city of Karbala. At least 10 died in the Dec. 27 Muzaffarabad attack and 43 in the Dec. 28 Karachi bombing, and scores more were injured.

Sectarian violence is not uncommon in Pakistan, but the fact that the latest incidents occurred in the current violence-ridden environment made authorities even more concerned and pointed to how far the insurgency has spread in the country from the militants' sanctuaries in the tribal regions.

In the Muzaffarabad blast, authorities said the attacker blew himself up when stopped by security guards. The BBC reported the militants have also used Muzaffarabad to set up camps for their groups to launch attacks against the Indian army on the Indian side of Kashmir.