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 Outbursts of sectarian violence occur regularly in Pakistan.
Hard-liners from the Sunni majority who consider Shiites to be
heretics have targeted the sect with bombs and shootings, with
Shiite attacks on Sunnis less common, at least in recent years.
In the wake of Friday's clashes, residents of Rawalpindi, a city
next to the capital that is home to a large military presence, were
ordered to stay in their homes until further notice, said Shoaib Bin
Aziz, the head of the information department of the government of
Punjab province.
Soldiers and police were patrolling the streets to enforce the
curfew, and many of the streets leading into the city were blocked
by shipping containers and trucks.
The Sunnis who were killed were from an Islamic seminary affiliated
with an anti-Shiite group, Ahle Sunnat Waljamaat. The clash started
when hundreds of Shiites marched past the seminary in a procession
to mark Ashoura, one of the sect's most important religious
occasions.
There were conflicting reports about the death toll from the clash.
A hospital official in Rawalpindi, Nasir Mahmood, said eight people
died from knife and gunshot wounds, and 35 were wounded. Fifteen of
the wounded are still being treated, he said.
But Oneeb Anis, a spokesman for Ahle Sunnat Waljamaat, claimed 11
seminary students were killed and many more were still missing. Ahle
Sunnat Waljamaat is believed to be a front for Sipah-e-Sahaba, an
anti-Shiite militant group that has been banned by the Pakistani
government.
The two sides clashed because the Shiites were upset that Sunnis
from the seminary were broadcasting their Friday sermon over
loudspeakers, said Anis and Amir Kazmi, a Shiite who was involved in
the procession.
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The two sides threw stones at each other and traded gunfire, Kazmi
said.
Some of the Shiites snatched rifles from policemen and stormed the
seminary, said Anis. Pakistan's Geo TV showed video footage of a
Shiite dragging a police officer in an attempt to steal his rifle.
Anis said the Shiites dragged Sunnis out of the seminary, and shot
and stabbed them. A meeting of Sunni scholars is scheduled to be
held later Saturday to decide on a future course of action, he said.
Dozens of shops outside the seminary were set on fire during the
clash. Two Shiite mosques were also set on fire overnight, said fire
department official Mohammad Mazhar, in apparent retaliation.
The Pakistani Taliban on Saturday vowed to avenge the killings of
Sunni Muslims in Rawalpindi.
"Yesterday, Shiites killed our Sunni brothers in attacks on a
Madrassa (seminary) in Rawalpindi. We announce that we will avenge
this attack," Ahmed Ali Intqami, a spokesman for the
Tehrik-e-Taliban for Rawalpindi told The Associated Press from an
undisclosed location.
He said, "We will punish Shiite infidels for killing our people, and
we will teach them a lesson very soon."
[Associated
Press; ZARAR KHAN]
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