By NNN-Xinhua,
Islamabad : Angry mob attacked government buildings, markets, banks and torched vehicles in the south Pakistani city of Karachi after a deadly suicide attack on a religious procession.
At least 30 people were killed and 50 injured in the attack on Shiite Muslims, said Sagheer Ahmed, health minister in Sindh Province.
People angry at the bomb attack burnt a main market, 15 vehicles, police station, two banks and office of local government, police said.
Witnesses said that firing was reported from different areas of Karachi after the attack and the police also used tear gas shells to disperse the protesters.
Additional paramilitary soldiers were deployed to restore peace and the army was also put on high alert to be called in any emergency situation.
The angry protesters also beat reporters, TV cameramen and press photographers and broke some cameras, media persons said.
Religious scholars made announcements from mosques asking the people not to indulge in violence.
Officials said that trains could not leave from Karachi to other parts of the country after the passengers could not reach railway station.
Fire fighters could not reach in time to extinguish blaze in shops as roads to several areas were closed and they also feared attacks from the protesters, officials said.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and Shiite leaders appealed to the masses to remain peaceful after the bomb blast.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack but Altaf Hussain, leader of the main group “Mutahida Qaumi Movement” said that it is handiwork of the Taliban militants.
Pres Zardari said that the fanatics wanted to provoke frenzy and riots to achieve their designs and called upon the people not to fall into their trap.
A deliberate attempt seems to be afoot by the extremists to turn the fight against militants into a sectarian clash and make the people fight against one another, he said.
“These are challenging times and we have to guard against such attempts by using force against extremists and militants on the one hand and exhibiting wisdom and patience on the other,” said the president.
The Shia march organizers decided to continue the procession despite the blast. They appealed to the mourners to be peaceful.
It is the third bomb blast in Karachi in three days. Scores of peoples were injured in the two blasts on Saturday and Sunday, according to the police.
Karachi Mayor Mustafa Kamal asked the citizens to remain peaceful and do not show any reaction. He expressed shock over attacks on property and vehicles after the blast. He said that the blast was aimed at destroying peace of the city.
During the first Muslim month of Muharram, Shiites across the world mourn the death of the Prophet Mohammad’s grandson Imam Hussain in the Iraqi city of Kerbala in the year 680.
Pakistan’s security forces have been on high alert as Muslims are marking the holy day of Ashura, the Shia calendar’s biggest event.
On Sunday evening at least 15 people, including mourners and policemen, were killed and over 100 injured when a suicide bomber ripped through a Muharram procession near a Shia mosque in the Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.