Two Imambargahs set on fire, Shia citizens killed and injured in attacks in Islamabad and Jhang
07-10-2003
ISLAMABAD, Oct 7: An employee of a cinema house died of suffocation, while about a dozen people were injured, as the activists of Millat-i-Islamia (MI) resorted to rioting after saying the funeral prayers of Maulana Azam Tariq
in front of the Parliament House here on Tuesday.
About 2,000 people attended the funeral prayers led by Maulana Azizur Rehman. National Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain and some MMAs attended the funeral prayers.
Moving scenes were witnessed, as the MI activists were crying, hugging each other and chanting slogans against the government, the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal and a rival sect.
After the funeral prayers, the body of the slain MNA was airlifted to Jhang, the ancestral town of Maulana Tariq. The bodies of the driver and the bodyguards were sent to Jhang by road.
Speaking on this occasion, the National Assembly speaker criticized the parliamentarians for not attending the funeral prayers of their colleague.
Heavy contingents of police and paramilitary troops were deployed in the vicinity of the Parliament House to avoid any untoward incident. However, soon after the funeral prayers, the police and paramilitary troops left the area, providing an open field to the mob to destroy public property, eyewitnesses said.
Immediatley after the funeral prayers, the emotionally charged activists charged towards Melody Market, the adjoining Food Street and Aabpara bazaar and attacked anything that came in their way. "We will avenge the killings," they shouted.
An eye-witness said the protesters were carrying a gun-like weapon that fired fireballs at the buildings setting them on fire. The police fired tear-gas shells to disperse the protesters. The rattle of the tear gas shelling echoed all around forcing people to run for cover.
Another eye-witness told Dawn that the people were seen looting cold drinks, biscuit packs, ice cream cups, shoes, garments etc from the shops.
Smoke billowed out of the roof of nearby Melody cinema. Witnesses said at least two people with burn injuries were taken out of the cinema, one of whom, Naveed Mohammad, died on way to the Federal Government Services Hospital. "The cinema house has been completely gutted," a cinema worker said. Luckily, the show was not on, otherwise, the casualty would have been unimaginable, he added.
A gas station near Aabpara market was smashed and its tuck shop ransacked. A police motorcycle (IDP 1264) was torched, while a police post was destroyed at Aabpara Chowk. According to police sources, a tear-gas gun of Islamabad police has gone missing in the process.
The protesters then attacked the shrine of father of Hazrat Bari Imam. Afzal, an eye-witness, said he tried to close the doors of the shrine, as Holy Quran was being recited inside, but of no avail.
The MI activists also damaged the public property at China Chowk. They smashed some 40 traffic signals, the superintendent of traffic police, Zubair Hashmi, told Dawn. The cost of each traffic signal is Rs700,000, he said.
Meanwhile, the Aabpara police arrested 47 demonstrators for torching the cinema building, attacking an Imambargah and damaging cars and buildings.
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SSP activists turned violent in Jhang
07-10-2003
JHANG, Oct 7: Maulana Azam Tariq, Millat-i-Islamia chief and a member of the National Assembly from Jhang, was laid to rest at the Jamia Mehmoodia here on Tuesday evening.
The funeral prayers of the slain leader were held at the Islamia High School ground at 4pm.
Led by Maulana Ali Sher Haidri, the prayers were attended by thousands of people belonging to all walks of life.
In their speeches on this occasion, MI leaders advised their workers to remain peaceful and demanded the government to arrest the perpetrators of this heinous crime as soon as possible or they would not be in a position to keep things in their control.
Earlier, the body of Maulana Tariq was brought to Jhang by a helicopter from Islamabad at about 10am. Thousands of people had gathered at the Mai Heer Stadium, where the helicopter landed, to receive the body. There were extraordinary security arrangements in and around the stadium.
Hundreds of people ran alongside the ambulance carrying the body. The procession was generally peaceful, but when it reached near Sessions Chowk, some people accompanying the procession started pelting stones at a filling station and shops around it, causing minor damage to them. Some people also resorted to aerial firing.
In the process, Kandiwal police station SHO Ahmad Ali was hit by a stone thrown by the processionists and was injured. There are also reports that some people burnt tyres and stoned the shop at some other chowks of the city to lodge their protest, causing minor damage.
In another incident, some provoked people entered the Imambargah, Shia Maulvi, adjacent to Tehsil Office and Kotwali PS and tried to set it to fire. They also injured five people - Ghulam Abbas, Abbas Ali, Muhammad Ali Shah, Israrul Hassan and Ghulam Sakina - present inside the Imambargah. The fire was not allowed to spread and the injured were shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital, Jhang, where they were stated to be out of danger.
Meanwhile, the bodies of three bodyguards and the driver of Maulana were sent to their native towns for burial.
There are no reports of any loss of life or serious damage to property from any part of the district.
Security in all sensitive areas of the district, particularly within the municipal limits of Jhang Sadar, has considerably been beefed up, with contingents of police and rangers.
Punjab and Frontier Constabulary, assisted by army personnel, were patrolling and guarding all sensitive places, particularly, Imambargahs and mosques belonging to the Shias. The district government has, under Section 144, banned pillion-riding in the city and announced closure of all offices, banks and edu-cational institutions for two days.
The district police officer has appealed to Ulema of all sects to observe calm to ensure peace in the district.
There was a complete strike throughout the district on the appeal of Anjuman Tajran and Millat-i-Islamia.
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Six SSP men held in Vehari
07-10-2003
VEHARI, Oct 7: People from various vocations and activists of the outlawed Sipah-i-Sahaba observed a day of mourning and protest all over the Punjab to express anguish over assassination of Maulana Azam Tariq and his guards.
There was a dramatic scene in Vehari when six of the SSP men were arrested at Jallah Jeam Town, Mailsi tehsil, before they could demonstrate.
Reports said some residents of the town wanted a shutter-down strike against the MNA's killing, but most of the traders refused to join them in the protest. Police patrolled at the locality, which is considered to be a hub of the SSP, and other sensitive areas to guard against any untoward incident.
Earlier in the morning, over 200 activists of the Millat-i-Islamia Party had gone to attend the funeral prayers of their chief in Jhang.
Meanwhile, the traders belonging to the Shiite sect were asked to go into hiding.
When contacted, a senior police officer said the law-enforcement agencies would take all possible steps to control crime. He did not give out the names of the arrested men.
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Punjab lifts ban on rallies
12-10-2003
LAHORE: The Punjab government has lifted a ban on rallies
in the province after supporters of the Millat-e-Islamia party promised to be
peaceful, a government official said on Sunday. The decision to lift the ban
was made on Saturday in Lahore, said Shoaib bin Aziz, a spokesman for the
provincial government. Authorities banned rallies on Wednesday as part of
efforts to tighten security and prevent more violence by his followers, many
of whom blame Shiites for the killing and have vowed vengeance. "This
decision to lift the ban was taken after Millat-e-Islamia assured the
government that its supporters will not be violent and help the government
maintain peace," Aziz told The Associated Press. An official of the
group confirmed the pledge. "We are not violent," said Mujib-ur
Rahman, a spokesman for Millat-e-Islamia. "We do not plan to do anything
to threaten peace." He added: "We do not have anything against the
government or against the people. We just want to get the killers
arrested."
JHANG: MI preparing for NA-89 bypolls
12-02-2004
JHANG, Feb 12: The outlawed Millat-i-Islamia is determined to field its candidate for the byelection for NA-89, which fell vacant after the assassination of Maulana Azam Tariq.
The polling is likely to be held in the late March or early April.
A source told Dawn on Thursday that rumours were rife that the former religious organization might opt for some like-minded candidate from outside to avoid the risk of its own candidate being disqualified due to government's interference.
The source alleged that such baseless stories were being aired by the supporters of a politician turned philanthropist, who was desirous of contesting the byelection after obtaining the support of both the MI and the government.
The organization, formerly known as the Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan, has won the Jhang municipal area NA seat three times since 1990, losing only once in 1977, without the help of any outside philanthropist, and despite the opposition. The former group was all set to repeat its past performance and its candidate would be finalized in a few days, it said.
The source also said it was decided in principle at an earlier meeting of the shoora that the candidate should be an aalim. Responding to a question, the source disclosed that there was a tough competition between Maulana Alam Tariq, younger brother of the slain leader, and Maulana Muhammad Ahmad Ludhianvi, the former party chief, for getting the ticket. However, the source said, Maulana Alam stood a better chance of getting the ticket due to his association with the slain leader.
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