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April 19, 2006
Pakistan: Shia Muslim Cleric Immolated After Shooting
News from Asian Age, the Pakistan Daily Times and the Bangladesh Daily Star gives the story on a leading Muslim cleric and his driver who were shot at in the outskirts of the Pakistani industrial city of Faisalabad last night.
The Shia cleric, Fazal Hussain Alvi, was being driven late on Tueday night when two gunmen on a motorbike approached and shot at the car. A bullet his the vehicle'sfuel tank, causing the car to burst into flames. The ensuing conflagration was so fierce that he two bodies in the car were charred beyond recognition. The 50-year old cleric's family were only able to identify him due to his wooden leg and the car's number plate.
A police spokesperson said that the killing was a "targeted" operation, but said it was too soon to state if it was as a result of a sectarian issue or for more personal reasons.
Alvi hailed originally from Garh Maharaja, Jhang, and had been based in Faisalabad for 15 years, where he had a reputation as an outspoken orator. Following his killing, police were placed on high alert, and roads leading to the Markazi Imambargah Azakhanea Shabbir mosque were blocked off.
On April 11 in Nishtar Park in Karachi, a suicide bombing at a Sunni gathering, held to celebrate Mohammed's birthday saw 57 people killed. In the explosion, the entire leadership of the Sunni Tehrik movement were killed.
Following the murder of Fazal Hussain Alvi, local Shia Muslims tried to demonstrate, but were forbidden by the police. Sajid Naqvi, leader of the Shia political party Tehrik-i-Jaaria said Alvi's death was a sectarian killing. "I think Pakistan's rulers have failed to combat terrorism in this country," he said.
The Shia Muslim community in Pakistan is in a minority, comprising only 20% of the total. The rest of the Muslim demographic is mostly made up of Sunnis, with a few Ahmadiyya.
Violence between the Sunnis and Shias has been frequent in Pakistan, particularly in the north. On February 9 a suicide bomber attacked a Shia procession in northwestern Pakistan, killing 29 people. The Shias were celebrating Ashura, the commemoration of the murder of Ali ibn Abi Talib in 661 AD, which led to the schism between Shia and Muslim sects.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at April 19, 2006 9:31 PM
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