Crackdown as Pakistan mourns shrine victims
KARACHI — Pakistani security forces killed dozens of suspected militants on Friday, a day after Daesh claimed a suicide bombing that killed more than 80 people at a Sufi shrine in the latest of a series of attacks across the country.
The bombing at the famed Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine in southern Sindh province was Pakistan’s deadliest attack in two years, killing at least 83 people.
With pressure growing for action, Pakistan demanded that neighbouring Afghanistan hand over 76 “terrorists” it said were sheltering over the border.
The bombings over five days have hit all four of Pakistan’s provinces and two major cities, killing around 100 people and shaking a nascent sense that the worst of the country’s militant violence may be in the past.
sehwan — Pakistani forces killed and arrested dozens of suspects in sweeping raids overnight and into Friday, a day after a massive suicide bombing by the terrorist group Daesh killed 75 worshippers at a famed Sufi shrine in the country’s south.
The terror attack — Pakistan’s deadliest in years — stunned the nation and raised questions about the authorities’ ability to rein in militant groups despite several military offensives targeting militant hideouts.
The raids targeted militant hideouts and led to shootouts with insurgents that left at least 39 militants dead across Pakistan, according to three security officials.
Most of the operations were carried out by the paramilitary Rangers. In one raid, the troops killed 11 suspects at a militant hideout in the port city of Karachi. In another, the Rangers came under fire as they were returning from Sehwan and killed seven of the attackers.
Other raids took place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and also in Punjab. The officials said a total of 47 suspects were arrested in the raids.
In Thursday’s attack, the suicide bomber walked into the main hall at the Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine in Sehwan, and detonated his explosives among a crowd of devotees, killing 75. At least 20 women and nine children were among the dead and scores were also wounded in the explosion.
Terrorist group Daesh claimed the attack in a statement circulated by its Aamaq news agency. The group views Sufi shrines like the one targeted on Thursday as a form of idolatry.
Raja Soomro, who witnessed the attack, told a local TV network that hundreds of people were performing a spiritual dance known as the “dhamal” when the bomber struck.
“I saw bodies everywhere. I saw bodies of women and children,” he said.
Local TV showed graphic footage of the aftermath of the blast, with wounded worshippers crying out for help and the floors covered with shoes, blood and body parts. Women cried and beat their chests in grief.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vowed that security forces would
each drop of the nation’s blood shall be avenged, and avenged immediately. No more restraint for anyone Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, Pakistan Army chief
track down the perpetrators of the attack, according to Pakistani state TV.
“Each drop of the nation’s blood shall be avenged, and avenged immediately,” Pakistan’s army chief, Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, said in a statement. “No more restraint for anyone.” The US State Department condemned the attack and offered its support to Pakistan in bringing the perpetrators to justice.
Thursday’s attack was the deadliest in Pakistan following the December 16, 2014 assault on an army-run school in Peshawar that killed 154 people, mostly schoolchildren.
Pakistan has been at war with the Taleban and other extremist groups for more than a decade. In recent years it has launched major offensives against militant strongholds in the tribal regions along the border with Afghanistan, but insurgents have continued to carry out attacks elsewhere in the country.
Daesh has been expanding its presence in Pakistan in recent years and has claimed a number of deadly attacks, including a suicide bombing at another Sufi shrine in November 2016 that killed more than 50 people.
Meanwhile, mourners gathered at the Sehwan shrine for a small rally to demand justice for the victims as some of the funerals got under way.
Relatives consoled the wailing mother of Zeeshan Ali, a 13-yearold who died in the blast and who was buried on Friday. Ali’s uncle, Shoukat Ali, said he was devoted to his nephew and raised him since he had no children of his own.
“I raised him like my own child and they took him from me,” he said. —