US blamed as shrine attack toll rises to 44

The Daily Times, Pakistan, Saturday, July 03, 2010

* People lash out at US, blaming its alliance with government, presence in Afghanistan for spurring attacks

* Demand tougher government crackdown on terrorists

LAHORE:

People on Friday lashed out at the US, blaming its alliance with the Pakistani government and its presence in Afghanistan for spurring Thursday’s deadly attacks on Data Darbar. Protests were held in Lahore against the attack, as the death toll rose to 44.

“America is killing Muslims in Afghanistan and in our tribal areas (with missile strikes), and militants are attacking Pakistan to express anger against the government for supporting America,” said Zahid Umar, 25, who frequently visits the shrine.

Pakistanis are suffering because of American policies and aggression in the region, said Mohammed Asif, 34, who runs an auto workshop in Lahore. He and others said the attacks would end if the US would pull out of Afghanistan.

Several other people interviewed blamed the Ahmadis. While others cast about for additional villains - though America’s hand was seen there, too.

Washington “is encouraging Indians and Jews to carry out attacks” in Pakistan, said Arifa Moen, 32, a teacher in the central city of Multan.

However, the government has defended the ongoing war against terrorism.

Protest: More than 5,000 people staged a protest rally in Lahore after Friday prayers and similar demonstrations were held in other cities across the country.

The protesters were shouting “Down with Shahbaz Sharif”, and ridiculed the chief minister’s repeated vows to defeat terrorists.

“Such attacks have been taking place frequently in Punjab. I think now he should use his iron hand instead of threatening to use it after every such attack,” said cleric Muhammad Naeem while talking to a private TV channel.

“We have always remained peaceful, but our patience should not be tested any more,” said Raghib Naeemi, whose outspoken father was killed in a suicide attack in Lahore last year.

Prominent scholar Mufti Muneeb-ur Rehman said suicide attacks targetting innocent people were absolutely against the teachings of Islam. “Such people are enemies of Islam,” he told a private TV channel. “Suicide attackers are destined to hell.”

Most bazaars and markets remained closed in Lahore and large numbers of police were on patrol in the city. Security was also beefed up at Sufi shrines across the country as well. agencies

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\07\03\story_3-7-2010_pg1_8

Protests in Pakistan after suicide attacks kill 43

June 2, 2010, 06:56 pm

AFP, Waqar Hussain -

Angry protesters took to the streets in Pakistan on Friday, burning tyres and condemning  (perpetrators) after two suicide attacks killed 43 people at a shrine in the eastern city of Lahore.

The carnage at the Sufi shrine on Thursday was caught on camera in dramatic CCTV footage showing the bombers and the blast which sent hundreds of panicked worshippers fleeing in all directions engulfed in clouds of white smoke.

Thousands of protesters in Lahore and other cities demonstrated against the attack on the shrine dedicated to Sufi saint Hazrat Syed Ali bin Usman Hajweri, popularly known as Data Ganj Bakhsh.

Close ally the United States said the "vicious" attack showed disregard for Pakistani people.

"This senseless act of violence demonstrates the 'terrorists' blatant disregard for the lives of the Pakistani people and their disrespect for the sanctity of Pakistan's places of worship," said State Department spokesman Mark Toner.

The United Nations said Secretary General Ban Ki-moon "strongly condemns the attack," adding, "The deliberate targeting of a crowded place of worship makes this particularly vicious.

Lahore's administration chief Sajjad Bhutta told AFP that the death toll stood at 43 with 112 people in hospital.

Protesters burned tyres outside the shrine before noon prayers and more than 5,000 people, mostly followers of the saint, later staged a rally in Lahore, while similar demonstrations were held in other cities across the country.

Pakistan's Taliban denied it was involved in the bombings.

The Sunni Tehreek movement announced a nationwide general strike for Saturday in protest at the attacks.

"It will be a complete and peaceful strike," senior party leader Hanif Tayyab told reporters after a rally in Karachi attended by more than 1,000 people.

Most bazaars and markets remained closed Friday and large numbers of police were on patrol in Lahore, considered a playground for Pakistan's elite and home to many top brass in the military and intelligence community.

Thousands of people were at the centuries-old shrine when the bombers blew themselves up, engulfing the site in a huge cloud of smoke and leaving the white marble floor splattered with blood, body parts and people's belongings.

"I saw dead bodies and injured people lying on the floor in pools of blood," said one witness.

Authorities said they had found the heads of two suicide bombers, who wore the green turbans of Sufi followers, and were investigating how they had managed to penetrate the area despite strict security measures.

The CCTV footage showed a guard chasing one of the bombers just moments before he set off his explosives belt.

"We were searching everyone walking through the gate. One bomber crossed the gate and a security guard ran to catch him because he was suspicious but in the meantime he blew himself up," Rao Fazal-ur-Rehman, an administrator at the shrine, told AFP.

After escaping much of the bloodshed in other parts of Pakistan in recent years, Lahore has increasingly suffered, with around 265 people killed in nine attacks since March last year.

In May (perpetrators) wearing suicide vests burst into two Ahmadi prayer halls in Lahore and killed 82 worshippers.

Sufism is a mystical movement, which includes both Shi'is and Sunnis, that spreads the message of Islam through music, poetry and dancing.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague branded the attacks a "vicious and inhuman act".

"Britain stands alongside the people and government of Pakistan against those who commit such appalling atrocities," Hague said.