ISLAMABAD: Sectarian clashes yesterday in Pakistan’s garrison city Rawalpindi left two people dead and over 20 injured as worshippers massed to mourn the seventh century martyrdom of Hussain, the grandson of prophet Muhammad (PBUH), officials said.
The clashes erupted in Rawalpindi, the neighbouring city of the capital Islamabad, when a procession by the Shia Muslims was underway in the main downtown area and a sermon in a nearby Sunni mosque started at the same time.
“Two people have died out of the clashes and 23 others are injured,” Tanveer Akhter, a doctor at hospital, said.
Police said that private properties were also set on fire during the clashes.
“The clashes started when a sermon was being delivered from a Sunni mosque on the way of the procession route. The infuriated Shias attacked the mosque and also put a cloth market on fire,” Waseem Ahmed, a police official said.
Media reports said that large contingents of army were deployed in the city after clashes.
Pakistan is rife with sectarian clashes. Generally, Sunni militant groups linked with Al Qaeda and Taliban attack gatherings by Shias, who constitute some 20 percent of the country’s overwhelmingly Muslim population.
Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH), was killed by the armies of the caliph Yazid in 680AD and his death in Karbala is mourned across the world every year.
Millions of Shias from around the world mark Ashura by holding processions and beating their chests during the Islamic month of Moharram.
AFP
